


Ties that Bind: Kili's Trial by Fire

by Zirikhifi



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Bondage, Fili secretly lusts after his brother, Hurt/reconciliation, Kili is in for a lot of pain, Kili must endure, Kili's Coming of Age, M/M, Thorin uses a cursed whip!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 07:25:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1596521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zirikhifi/pseuds/Zirikhifi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Durincest fanfic<br/>The story takes place over the course of one evening, sometime within the year before the events of The Hobbit.  Kili has been acting up and Thorin has had his fill.  He decides that the only way to get Kili to grow up is to put him through a trial of pain endurance (a coming of age ceremony).  If he passes, he becomes an adult and will be allowed to accompany them on the upcoming journey.  If he fails, he must stay home. Thorin will use a special whip that is magically designed to cause a lot of pain without causing any real physical damage. Little does he know that the whip is cursed... By the end of the evening all three of the Durin's will be changed for the better as they must face up to their shortcomings, confront ghosts from the  past, and own up to hidden desires.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ties that Bind: Kili's Trial by Fire

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic ever, and I decided to post it for the Hobbit Big Bang on LJ.
> 
> I do not claim any ownership of these characters. They are the sole property of the Tolkien estate and Peter Jackson. 
> 
> The Neo-Khuzdul I use (or at least attempt to use) is from Dwarrow Scholar. Check out his amazing Khuzdul dictionaries, tutorials, and YouTube Lessons at: http://dwarrowscholar.mymiddleearth.com/  
> Apologies for any Khuzdul grammatical mistakes!
> 
> Warning: For very Mature Audiences only. Contains incestuous and explicit sex acts between males (mostly Fili/Kili, but Thorin plays a part too as does Frerin) . Contains some Bondage, S&M, and descriptions of torturous pain (but not really much in the way of gore). If any of this bothers you, do not read this work.  
> There's also a happy-ish ending and some warm fuzzies in there, so it's not too dark!

As he stumbled out of the stuffy tavern and into the cool evening, Kili knew he was really in trouble this time. Not only had he once again disobeyed his uncle, but in doing so, had lost one of Thorin's favorite axes in a tavern betting game. Try as he might, he had not been able win it back no matter how many more games he played. He briefly wondered if he had been set up, but it mattered not. It didn't change the fact that he had gambled away Thorin's axe. He was fairly certain Thorin had already received the news (for news like that travels fast), and could imagine him stomping about his room, raging to Fili about the youngest, most troublesome, and most irresponsible of his nephews.

It would be: "Oh, why couldn't Kili be like you, Fili?" and "I will flay that _Khathuzh mahumbûn_ alive!"  
He knew his brother would do his best to try to sooth Thorin, but if the rage was too great Fili would stand no chance.  
Kili groaned inwardly, wondering why he kept doing this to himself. _Elf-shit_ , indeed. Even he might have to agree with his uncle on that one. He vaguely thought of hiding out in the woods to the south for a couple days, living off what he could hunt, but let that idea depart as fast as it had entered. Even as irresponsible as he knew he was, he could not cause Fili grief, and his disappearance would certainly worry his brother. Also, it would also be the cowardly thing to do, and Kili might be Elf-shit, but he was no coward. He was pretty much an adult now, his chin shadowed by the bristles of his slow growing beard. Nowhere near as full as Fili's, but it was a start and showed he was more than a mere youth. He rubbed his chin almost to reassure himself it was still there. Then with a sigh, he started trudging towards home to face his uncle's fury. 

When he stepped through the door to their living quarters, he put on his most contrite expression. He had rehearsed his apology all the way home and was ready to deliver it. However the common-room was dark and empty, the fireplace cold. He lit one of the wall sconces.  
"Fili?" he called out softly. "Uncle?" a little louder. Nothing but the sigh of the wind in the chimney, and the soft shifting of the cold ashes in the hearth. Where could they be? Lighting lanterns and wall sconces as he went, Kili looked around the room for any clues. Nothing looked out of place. He went down the long hallway to the bedroom he shared with his brother. The bed sheets were still crumpled on his bed just as he left them this morning. Fili's bed looked a bit neater. Nothing out of the ordinary there. He hung his bow and sword on the rack on the wall, but tossed his leather satchel and gloves on the bed, adding to its general state of disarray.

"Fili?" He strode into the kitchen area looking for some small sign that a meal had been eaten there not that long ago, but there were no crumbs on the table, no warmth to the iron pot, no glowing coals in the oven.  
He frowned. He'd only been gone for 8 hours. Normally he and Fili would be at the tavern sharing a couple pints by now, but today was one of those days Thorin had required his brother's presence in the map room for more of that endless planning for the upcoming journey. As he knew Thorin would be occupied all day, instead of going to the forge as he was supposed to, he had snuck off to the tavern alone to drink and join in the wagering games.  
It was late enough that both should have returned by now. Did he forget some event tonight that he was expected to attend, or was there a visiting dignitary to cater to? In a panic he racked his brains trying to recall if he there was indeed something important he had forgotten. Then he noticed the dagger stuck in the oak chair he usually sat in at the dinner table, a note pinned underneath. He yanked the dagger out and grabbed the note. It was written in charcoal, a single sentence in Thorin's hand. "Come to Khufdzahar Menem".

Kili suddenly felt his already roiling stomach fill with cold writhing snakes. An angry Thorin in the common room was already frightening enough, but an angry Thorin in the dark bowels of Khufdzahar Menem...? He dreaded what he would find down in the dark rooms of that ancient Orc prison. And what of Fili?  
Everything about this was bad. Perhaps Thorin was planning on chaining him up down in the dark and leaving him to rot. He grimaced, trying to dredge up some sort of righteous indignation in which to cloak himself, but all he could find was sickening fear and guilt. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. There was nothing to do but go and meet his fate head on.  
Not bothering to collect his weapons, he turned and strode out of their living quarters, down the great hall and out the main door. Then still trying not to dwell on what might be awaiting him, he quickly followed the path down the hill towards the old ruins...

Kili crept down the ancient stone staircase that hugged the rough wall as it spiraled downwards. Some of the steps had crumbled at the edges long ago, so he was careful to watch his footing. Usually it was dark, but tonight the torches in the wall sconces were lit, their flickering lights licking back at the shifting shadows. He could also see a faint glow far below. Thorin must have lit a fire in the great brazier. The farther down Kili went the colder and more damp the air became, and the more hollow the pit in his stomach grew. Not for the first time, he wished Fili was beside him.  
After descending several spiral rounds of the staircase, Kili reached the bottom. It was chilly and dim down here, and the stone walls and floor were spotted with moss and slick with condensation. In the middle of this circular room was a roughly constructed well that linked down to a cold subterranean spring. There was a mist seeping upwards from that dark hole and he could hear the faint rush of waters beneath. From where he stood, he could see the two doorways carved out of the stone, one to his left and the other to his right. The rusty iron door on the left was shut, but he could see the glow of the fire through a crack in the doorway that led to the large room on the right.  
He and Fili had explored some of the rooms down here a while ago, and he remembered that the doorway on the left led to a warren of twisty passageways branching off into small cells carved out of the rock and blocked off with rusty iron bars. But the large room on the right with the impressive stone and iron wrought brazier was also the one with the hanging cages and manacles attached to the walls and the tall stone columns. There were also cables attached to pulleys spanning the length of the ceiling, meant for hanging up prisoners and torture victims by their arms. It was a room that Orcs had used for torturing prisoners long ago before his kind had arrived.  
It was not the sort of room he wanted to enter right now, not with an angry King awaiting his arrival. Kili took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm his thumping heart. Then pushing the heavy door open, he stepped into the fire lit room.

It was a spacious room, mostly square in shape. The floor was rough stone with rusty spatters and streaks in many spots from the centuries old spilling of blood. Once long ago, several stone columns stood, bolstering the ceiling. Now many of those columns were in ruins, large chunks scattered about, leaving only cracked plinths on the floor, or their crowns hanging jagged from the ceiling. Still standing were two slightly smaller stone columns close together near the brazier. Those two columns also had iron loops driven through the stone, meant for chaining up arms and legs. Dark streaks were visible on those columns as well, although it was hard to tell if the origin was rusted iron, or more spilled blood. Kili suspected it was a mix of both.  
To his left at an angle was a low carved stone table. He could make out another one on the far side of the room. The edges of the room were dim, the shifting firelight unable to fully penetrate the gloom. In those distant corners, Kili could barely see the outline of some hanging cages, rusted and decrepit.  
In the middle of the room, near the two upright columns sat the huge brazier, and there in front of the blazing fire stood Thorin, the firelight creating a hazy nimbus around his kingly mane. Kili couldn't make out the expression on his uncle's face with the fire behind him so bright, but he imagined his blazing eyes would rival the flames. Reluctantly he stepped closer.

"Ah, so he finally arrives." Thorin said dryly. "My young nephew comes to accept his fate."  
"Uncle..." Kili started in a rasping whisper, his throat suddenly dry. "I..."  
Thorin cut him short with a growl, "Well, have you come to accept your fate, or will you let your brother take the fall for you as he always seems so willing to do?" Thorin indicated the wall on the right with a flick of his head, and that's when Kili saw his brother standing there, wrists manacled to the cold stone wall.  
"Fili!" he called out wanting to rush to him, but Thorin stepped in his way.  
"Well?" he demanded impatiently. "Will you allow your brother to take the fall for you? He claims that your behavior of late is his fault. That he should have led a better example, should have reined you in sooner."  
Kili's eyes widened as he suddenly caught sight of the coiled whip in his uncles hand. It seemed to emanate a faint glow. Over Thorin's shoulder he could see Fili frantically trying to signal something to him. Kili figured that Fili was indeed trying to let him know that he would in fact stand in his younger brother's place. Yes, of course Fili the Protector would do everything he could to shield his little brother from pain as he always had done.

When they were much, much younger, Kili often hid behind Fili who tried to block the worst of Thorin's wrath, even to the extent of sometimes shouldering the blame for Kili's childish transgressions. But that was a long time ago. He hadn't let his brother stand in his place for many decades, and there was no way he would allow his brother to be punished in his place now. He was somewhat hurt and insulted that Thorin would think that of him, but sadly not very surprised.  
Frowning, Kili looked Thorin square in the eye and steadying his voice proclaimed, "No, of course I would not. I will accept whatever punishment you have in store for me, Uncle. Please let Fili go!"  
Thorin stepped in closer so that Kili could now see his face more clearly. Instead of a scowl of fury, Thorin's expression was strangely calm, but his piercing azure gaze was more intense than ever. Kili felt his throat constrict, but forced himself to continue looking his uncle in the eye.

Thorin peered deeply into his nephew's wide brown eyes. He could see the fear and uncertainty there, but there was also a glint of steely resolve. Yes, there was no way Kili would let his brother stand in for him no matter how frightened he was. Pleased, Thorin stepped back, stroked his bearded chin and nodded. Yes, he could work with this.  
"Ok, lad. Strip down to your shorts and lay your clothes there", Thorin nodded to the low stone table on the left.

Kili was alarmed at this request, but hesitated for only a moment before complying. He went to the stone table and started untying straps. He shrugged out of his leather long coat and laid that on top. Next was his belt, long cotton shirt, then boots and trousers until only his thin linen shorts remained. He shivered a little (for the room was drafty and damp, despite the roaring fire), then turned to face his uncle, trying to square his trembling shoulders. He again eyed the whip.  
"I am ready to receive my punishment, Uncle." Kili said stiffly. He was trying hard to keep the tremor out of his voice.

Thorin gazed long at his youngest nephew's semi naked form. The lad had filled out quite nicely in these past years. His body once slender like a cat was still lithe but now hardened and contoured from his daily weapons training and work in the armory and forge. The muscles across his broad chest and arms, even at rest, seemed to ripple beneath his youthful skin. The once smooth chest was now lightly forested with dark curly hair that sprouted and swirled downwards in intricate patterns across the ridges of his abdomen, before thickening and delving down below. His legs were longer than most, but were sturdy and toned.  
Thorin looked up at his nephew's face. The dark scruffy bristles on his angular jaw and upper lip shadowed his cheeks, lending a certain gravity to his otherwise youthful features. His dark wavy hair was long, unkempt, unbraided, and hung wildly around his handsome face. A few stray locks fell across the warm brown eyes which had been staring straight ahead, but were now downcast, hidden by long lashes. It was clear that Kili felt uncomfortable under his Uncle's piercing gaze.  
Unlike his unruly behavior, Thorin considered Kili's physical form and found almost nothing wanting. True, he had yet to grow his beard out, but he was already a big hit with the ladies, Dwarrow or otherwise. Despite the fact that Kili liked to flirt, Thorin did not think he had actually ever lain with any of them.  
Finally, Thorin pointed to the wall on the left, directly across the room from his brother. There leather straps hung from a brass ring which in turn was held up by a metal cable attached to a pulley up above. The cable spanned most of the length of the ceiling. "Against that wall," Thorin said brusquely.

Kili stole a quick glance at his brother before doing as Thorin commanded. Fili's expression was strangely unreadable. He turned and slowly walked towards the wall, stepping carefully around the chunks of rubble.  
Thorin tucked the whip into his belt and followed, feeling a strange and exciting anticipation. He shrugged out of his fur lined cloak and tossed it atop Kili's clothing.

When Kili reached the wall, he turned to await further instructions. Thorin was right behind him and without warning, he suddenly shoved his nephew firmly back against the rough stone wall, pressing him there with the weight of his own body. Before Kili could react to that, Thorin had gripped the younger's wrists in his strong hands and had forced both of his arms up, pinning them against the wall high above his head.  
Kili gasped, startled and almost tried to resist, but reined himself in and allowed himself to be bound by his wrists to the leather straps above. He suspected that had he tried to fight back, Thorin would have gotten the best of him. Despite his own strength and skill, his Uncle was stronger and had so many more years of experience in which to hone his skills.

As Thorin deftly bound his nephew's wrists he was keenly aware of several things: how tall Kili had become, the firmness of the warm muscled chest he was leaning against, the slight trembling of the young dwarf's body, and the sound of both of their heartbeats, strong and fast. He also became aware of an odd but pleasant feeling of arousal that he had not felt for many years; a low gentle thrumming in his groin as if a lute string had been plucked and now reverberated outwards in slowly diminishing waves. It surprised him but he stifled those feelings and turned his attention back to the matter at hand.  
Satisfied with the bonds, Thorin stepped back and nodded grimly. He roughly tugged Kili several steps away from the wall, then went to a crank and started to turn it.  
As the cable holding the brass ring started to rise, Kili felt his arms being pulled upwards until taut. Thorin continued to crank, and Kili was forced to go up on the tips of his toes, his lifted torso causing his ribs to protrude from beneath the skin. His breath became more rapid and shallow as his strained lungs were forced to try to take in more oxygen.

Across the room, bound only loosely to the wall, Fili watched the proceedings with widened eyes and hammering heart. Watching Kili undress, he felt the familiar conflict rise in his heart, but now amplified by this strange situation. First were the stirrings of frustration and anxiety at being unable to aid his brother. But then when he saw Thorin pin Kili's body against the wall and bind his wrists, he definitely felt stirrings of a different kind. His younger brother had always been a beautiful child, and now that they were adults, it seemed that beauty had only intensified. Fili had always admired the aesthetics of Kili's handsome features, enjoyed seeing his younger brother become more muscular, going from gangly youth to well toned fighter. But for a while now, Fili had also been somewhat aware of the conflicting emotions and physical stirrings he was having whenever he saw Kili naked, or partially naked, which was quite often ---in the baths, working the forge, and even while lying in bed at night. They used to wrestle together wearing only shorts, but that was something Fili had to stop doing, despite Kili's obviously wanting to continue. Feeling his bare-chested brother squirming beneath him, or pressing on top of him, was definitely leading to some odd and uncomfortable thoughts. They were the kind of thoughts that threatened to bring to the light the manifestation of his shameful physical desires. Fili had tried to suppress his feelings, tried to avoid being around him at certain times, but Kili was an affectionate sort and was always tackling him, or putting his arm around his shoulders, tugging on his braids. It was becoming harder and harder to hide his growing desire.  
Now seeing his brother like this, bound and helpless, toned muscles bulging under the strain of holding up the weight of his body, anxiously awaiting whatever it was Thorin was going to deal out, Fili felt his body succumb to those lustful cravings. There was a delicious thrill that started burning deep in his loins, a warm glow spreading slowly up through his abdomen and chest. He felt the familiar stirring below, a dull ache of desire tempered by a sort of horrified anticipation. He was sure he shouldn't be feeling this way about his brother, especially now, and felt his cheeks redden.

Observing his youngest nephew's athletic body pulled taut by the bindings, hearing his breath quickening and becoming a little more ragged with fear, Thorin once again felt that trill of excitement that originated deep within his loins. This time, he did not attempt to stifle those feelings. It had been too long since he let himself feel this way, and he had almost forgotten how pleasant it was. He took the whip from his belt and was surprised at the jolt of energy it seemed to give him. He took a few moments to savor the odd heady feelings of power he gained by holding it in his hand. It was warm and seemed to hum with energy. The longer he held it, the more invigorated and aroused he felt.  
He turned his attention to his bound nephew. Raising his boot, he pressed it firmly in the small of Kili's back and then shoved hard.

Kili cried out in surprise and stumbled forward, held up more by his arms than his feet. The brass ring holding his bindings slid halfway down along the length of the cable. He now swayed in the middle of the room, trying desperately to keep his footing. He was closer to the fire, and could feel its warmth lick at his chilled skin. He was determined not to show fear despite the panicked rabbit-thumping of his heart but he felt so vulnerable in this position. He shot a panicked look at his brother, then closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath. He heard Thorin approach from behind.

Thorin came up behind his bound nephew and reached out to twine his fingers in those dark shiny tresses. He had the desire to yank Kili's head back, but instead just pushed his hair to the side and out of the way. He took a moment to admire the sight of Kili's rippled back and the way his tightly bound arms made his shoulder blades jut out. After securing the iron ring to the cable so it would not further slide in either direction, he gently caressed his nephew's tensed shoulder blades with the edge of the leather whip.  
Its hot touch made Kili jump slightly.  
Thorin leaned in close and brushed against Kili's ear with his lips, suppressing a sudden and surprising urge to bite down. He spoke slowly in his low gruff voice, the words like hot steam in the young dwarf's ear.  
"Nephew, it would be erroneous to view this as a punishment, although there is no doubt that you deserve to be punished." He paused, "Obviously punishing you for your indiscretions has not worked. Instead, think of this as a Rite of Passage. You will undergo a ritual --a _Juzurab_ \-- from irresponsible childhood to becoming the _Khuzdûn_ your brother and I can count on. One day Fili will be King, and he will need the strength of a responsible, able brother at his side. Right now you are merely _khuzdithul_ in the body of a _khuzd_." And quite a nice body, Thorin thought as he ran his hand slowly up Kili's arm, marveling at the feel of the tensed biceps and triceps flexing under his calloused fingers. Distractedly he wondered why the sight of his nephew was causing such feelings now. It's not like he didn't see him on a daily basis. Was it because of what he was about to do to him? He felt Kili shiver involuntarily at his touch, and for some odd reason, this pleased Thorin.

Without thinking, Kili opened his mouth to protest being called a child, but before he could speak, Thorin had firmly shoved the hard leather covered hilt of his dagger between Kili's teeth, startling him and successfully muffling his words.  
"You may want to bite down on that" Thorin said matter-of-factly. "What I do to you tonight will be quite painful, but know that I do it out of love for you, my young sister-son." Thorin slowly trailed a fingernail down the length of Kili's spine, causing him to shiver again and break out in goose skin. Then moving to the front, he took the edge of the whip and slowly traced the arc of Kili's ribcage with it, enjoying the sight of the stretched abdominal muscles constricting to form ridges.  
Thorin continued, "Tonight I will burn away all childish impurities and leave only the tempered sword, the _sanzagar_ that will strike hard and true. We will see if you can make it through this ordeal, and prove yourself worthy..." He paused, "...or if you will be _khirehul_ like a fragile egg." To emphasize his words, Thorin poked his finger into Kili's solar plexus, not too hard but not very gently either.  
Kili grunted, winced, and sunk his teeth even deeper into the leather dagger hilt.  
He took a step back and fixed his nephew with a stern look, "However, whatever happens here tonight will determine whether or not you will be ready to journey with us when we set out to reclaim Erebor. He started pacing around his nephew, fingering the whip as he spoke, "I _cannot_ and _will not_ have the childish boy getting in the way, no matter how skilled he is with the sword and bow. I need to know that you will guard our backs, that you won't get drunk and fall asleep on watch, that you will not in your recklessness, cause us to fall into the hands of our enemies." Thorin stopped pacing and suddenly gripped Kili's tangled tresses, pulling his head back to expose his throat.  
Kili tried with great difficulty to swallow his fear.

Thorin continued, eyes boring into his nephew's, his voice taking on more than a slight edge of anger, "Both your brother and I have tried hard these past years to mold you into an adult through example, through lectures, training and yes, the occasional physical admonition, but still you resist us, preferring to shirk your duties and spend your time getting drunk, losing bets, and brawling in the tavern. If you cannot follow by example, then perhaps this is the only way to drag you into adulthood. A trial by fire as it were. If you can make it through the night, you will emerge as _Khuzdûn_."  
Thorin withdrew his hand, letting Kili's head fall back forward. "If not...well, your mother will be happy that at least one of her sons will stay home."

Kili blanched at that but then felt his face grow hot as he considered his uncle's words, feeling more and more like the _Khathuzh mahumbûn_ his uncle liked to call him, (albeit muttered under his breath most times). But Thorin spoke true. While Kili took his weapons training seriously, he had always let Fili shoulder all the responsibility of the boring future-kingship duties while he gallivanted around having fun. Instead of backing up his brother during those dull times, he was drinking in the tavern. The time when Fili would take on the crown and Thorin's place seemed so distant, so far in the future that Kili did not take it very seriously. Surely their strong uncle would be around for many years yet to come?  
He might not have taken it very seriously, but he knew that Fili did. How could his older brother not, with Thorin always reminding him of duties present and in the future? Fili had the pressures of having to eventually fill Thorin's impressive boots, as well as the pressures of mediating between an often enraged uncle and impetuous, troublemaking younger brother. And instead of backing him up and giving him the support he deserved, he was often the cause of his brother's stress. Kili felt a deep shame settle upon him as he considered all this seriously for perhaps the first time ever.

From the earliest he could remember Fili had always been there for him, teaching him through the telling of stories of the great heroes of legend. Sure Balin, Dwalin or Thorin himself had told them bedtime stories, but Kili had enjoyed hearing them from Fili the most. It was Fili who taught him how to properly hold a sword, to feint, and lunge with it, even though their mother said he was too young. It was his brother who had comforted him in the night when he awoke from bad dreams, who praised him when he did something right and only gently chided him when he did wrong. Fili was not afraid to stand up to Thorin's wrath in order to protect his little brother, and Kili could not think of many others excepting perhaps Uncle Dwalin and his own mother who would have the courage to cross Thorin when he was in one of his moods.  
He could not bear the thought of Fili going away on a long journey and leaving him behind. It would tear his heart in twain to be apart from his older brother for long. He hung his head, even more ashamed now, wanting to apologize and to beg for their forgiveness. But he was wise enough to know that it would not be enough. Not now. However he was determined to make it through the night without breaking. He wanted to show his uncle and brother that he too could be strong. Sinking his teeth into the tough leather hilt, he nodded his head once in acquiescence at his uncle's words.

Fili heard Thorin's short speech and saw the effect it had on his younger brother. He felt a swelling of pride in Kili's determination to get through this ordeal, but at the same time he was worried that Thorin would be too hard on him. With the stakes so high, Kili could not fail tonight. Fili too could not bear the thought of being apart from his younger brother whom long ago, he had sworn to their father to always care for.

>   
> _"Fili, you are the eldest and it is your duty to protect your younger brother always. Guide him, cherish him, and be there to lend him your strength and wisdom."_ Although Fili was a young child, only 9 years into this world when he solemnly made his vow, it was a promise he would never allow himself to break. For those were the last words he ever spoke to his father who then went away to battle and never returned.

When Thorin had led him down here earlier, he hadn't fully explained what was going to happen. He just said that tonight was the night Kili would, by undergoing a physical trial of pain endurance, finally start acting like a responsible adult. It was to be a rite of passage to clearly demarcate childhood from adulthood. Somehow Kili had to see Fili chained up so he could make a decision on whether or not to go through with the ordeal, and getting through the ordeal was necessary in order to pass the test. It wasn't until Thorin had him manacled to the wall that he had let Fili get a glimpse of the whip.  
"What is that?!" Fili had asked, alarmed at the sight of the glowing whip.  
"It is a special whip." Thorin had answered curtly, and would say no more.  
Now seeing how Kili was bound, Fili wished he was free just in case things went too far. It wasn't that he did not trust his uncle, but that whip was giving off a disturbingly strong negative aura. He had allowed himself to be shackled because Thorin said it was necessary and he always trusted his uncle's judgment. ...But he still felt uneasy.

After pinning Kili's long hair to the side, away from his back and neck, Thorin stepped back and started to unravel the long leather whip. He had never used it before, but knew it would put a fire to his nephew's skin without leaving any permanent marks. He did not want to maim the lad or seriously wound him, but he did want this to be a memorable experience. It was important that Kili get through the ordeal but have to struggle mightily to do so, or it would be meaningless. He held the whip firmly, thumb pressed against the smooth ruby, feeling a warm, tingling sensation coming from the gem. It was quite pleasant.  
Then Thorin reached back and without any warning, flicked the whip forward to strike the first blow between his nephew's tensed shoulders.

"Uhhhnngh!" Kili flinched, grunting through the leather bit, feeling the sharp pain sear his back and then flame outwards in all directions like a fast spreading fire. He gasped, unhappily surprised at how much that first blow had hurt, and was continuing to hurt. He felt sure there was an angry bleeding welt across his back, and shivered at the thought of future lashes. He shot a desperate look at his brother who looked equally as desperately back at him. This was going to be harder than he had imagined. He tried to brace himself against the next lash, wondering how many he would have to endure.

The pleasant warm tingling that started where Thorin's thumb touched the ruby, spread up his arm and into his shoulder, flooding his body with more strength. He gazed at the faint pink welt on his nephew's skin and smiled grimly. He knew the blow must have felt quite sharp to Kili, and that he would think it had cut through his skin. The whip was made from Warg hide and the ruby imbued with a special magical rune. Its property was to cause a lot of fiery pain, even with the slightest of blows. In his able hands it should be able to lash at the skin like a dragon's searing breath but not cause any actual physical damage. Thorin raised his arm again, and again the whip flicked across Kili's back, licking his left shoulder.  
Although this time Kili was prepared, the blow still burned like a brand and he couldn't help but to jerk against his bonds and hiss through his clenched teeth.  
Without waiting, Thorin rained several more blows in quick succession. There was a mounting grim pleasure in watching his nephew's muscles writhe and twist, and in hearing his pained grunts and his desperate half stifled whimpers. The tingling warmth emanating from the whip now filled his torso. A small part of him thought it was odd that he be feeling so much pleasure at causing a loved one pain, but those thoughts were washed away by a dark swell of delectable arousal as the pulsating warmth sank down into his groin.

Kili's feverish panting came fast and ragged. He was sweating and trembling, not only from the fiery pain of the whip searing his skin, but also from the strain of being held up by his arms for so long, having to stand on tiptoe but constantly losing his balance. He had managed to regain his footing each time, but knew his legs would eventually give way. When would this end? Another volley of lashes licked flames across his back and he groaned loudly through the dagger clenched between his teeth. Waves of searing pain rolled through his quivering muscles, and his stomach clenched and churned with acidic bile.

Fili's hands were tight fists, fingernails digging into palms as he watched with helpless concern. He was trying to reconcile the guilt and pain in his heart with this strange pleasure in seeing his young brother so helpless, his face contorted, and emotions raw. He wanted to comfort Kili, wipe the sweat from his brow, and ease his suffering. But he also felt a strong desire to run his hands across his brother's sweaty, supple and strong chest, and down his rippled abdomen. He wanted to bite that trembling lip; he wanted to feel Kili desperately panting in his mouth as he kissed him hard. Fili shook his head, trying to clear away these shameful thoughts, but they continued unbidden along with the burning fire in his hardened loins.

Thorin watched his nephew struggle to remain standing, struggle to keep control, and was pleased. The red gem under his thumb had become almost uncomfortably warm, but the more he lashed out, the more pleasurable was the surge of hot power that saturated his body and licked down into his groin. With every flick of the whip, the feeling grew more intense, and a thin red haze started permeating his field of vision. The sweet and sickly tang of iron invaded his nostrils, and he wondered if it emanated from the centuries old dried blood on the floor; old blood now mingling with his nephew's sweat. The scent reminded him of battles long ago and whereas normally he would have wrinkled his nose in disgust, now it seemed to only excite him.  
Thorin felt his nerves continue to thrum with energy. It was almost as if he wasn't in control of his arm anymore. This time Thorin let the whip flick at Kili's skin with more force. It flicked the nape of his neck, across his shoulders, curling around his sides, nicking the small of his back, and biting the backs of his thighs. 5 lashes, then 10, 20, 25, not pausing at all between. Caught up in the heat of his actions, Thorin growled loudly and bared his teeth as he lashed out, the red haze filling his sight, adrenaline coursing through his veins, his loins tightening, hardening. He hadn't felt this aroused in decades. Twisting red shadows lapped at the back of his mind, and any small uneasy voice within that might have protested, was silenced by his growing bloodlust.

By now, Kili was writhing, his arms jerking hard against the bonds as he desperately tried to escape the fiery blows, an involuntary low keening coming from his throat, rising in pitch. The heat from all those quick searing lashes combined and engulfed his every nerve like roaring dragon fire, and in the end it was too much. The dagger fell from his mouth, clattering on the stone floor as he cried out in anguish. Then his knees gave out and he hung limply by his arms, his dark locks lying stringy across his face, slick with sweat. Half fainted with eyes screwed shut, he was trying so hard not to sob. He had to stay strong, but his body continued to burn and his nerves shrieked with the pain. Dark spots appeared across the insides of his eye lids, but he fought to stay conscious, the effort making his stomach twist with nausea.

When Kili cried out, so too did Fili. He could no longer bear to see his brother beaten like this, and not seeing Kili's back, was as sure as his younger brother that the whip was cutting into flesh, creating deep, damaging, bloody welts. The horror at what his brother was going through did not completely quell the burning in his loins, but he could not remain silent any longer. Kili would not beg Thorin to stop, but Fili had no qualms about doing so.  
"Uncle, please relent! You'll kill him!" Fili pleaded, tugging at his chains. His brother hung there limply, but his twitching muscles made his body jerk like a dying marionette, and it was breaking Fili's heart.

Fili's urgent shouting was able to cut through the red haze clouding Thorin's vision. He was breathing heavily from the throbbing in his loins, drunk on the heady, hot current of power coursing through his body. The red shadows swirled in his head making it hard to think, but Fili's voice did cause him to pause long enough to look up and scowl. Through the slightly dissipating red haze, he could barely make out Fili's form against the opposite wall. He shook his head trying to clear it, and staggered back a step taking his thumb off the red gem. The red haze cleared a little more and he felt the bloodlust ebb some, although the waves of pleasure coursing through his groin continued making it difficult to concentrate. He slowly forced his whip arm down to his side. Then he took a deep breath and examined his young nephew as he hung there.  
The young dwarf's whole body was dripping and quaking, as he tried to stifle whimpers of pain. He was so beautiful in his anguished vulnerability that Thorin's ragged breath caught in his throat. He had a sudden and flaring desire to go to Kili, rip off the shorts, and roughly take him as he hung there helpless. Gritting his teeth, he resisted that dark urge and instead let the whip fall to the floor. Then before he could change his mind, he grabbed up a bucket of cold spring water that had been earlier drawn from the well in the adjacent room, and threw it over Kili's head soaking him from top to bottom, washing away the sweat and cutting the unbearable burning down a notch.

Kili inhaled sharply, the cold liquid clearing away some of the fiery pain, giving him the strength to try to regain his footing.

Wordlessly Thorin dropped the bucket and staggered over to the far wall. With a quick crank, he lowered his nephew down only enough so that his feet could lay flat. Then he weaved his way over to his eldest heir on the opposite wall, and with fists clenched, stood before him swaying a little on his feet. He glared at Fili, a wild look in his eye.  
Fili had seen that look of bestial hunger that burned in Thorin's eyes as he had gazed upon Kili's broken form, and for the first time in his life, he was afraid of what his uncle might be capable of doing, or incapable of stopping himself from doing. And at that very moment Fili also thought Thorin might strike him down with his fists. However after what seemed like several long tense minutes, the wildness slowly dimmed from Thorin's eyes and he became more or less himself again.

The feelings of intense vitality that had flooded his body earlier had mostly died down and now Thorin was left feeling exhausted. Slowly he pulled out a key and unlocked Fili's manacles. But before Fili could run to his brother, Thorin grasped his arm and pulled him back. He put his mouth to his nephew's ear. In a low, unsteady voice he spoke, "Kili is not...badly harmed, although it feels to him as if he is. Take this ointment and rub it into his back." Glancing downwards, Thorin noticed the unmistakable bulge pressing against Fili's trousers. Not wanting to embarrass his nephew, he hid a tired but knowing smile. "You may give him comfort, but do NOT release him. I will leave you two together for now, but will return shortly. The night is still young and I have still have much more to do before it is done." With that Thorin released his hold and took one last long glance at Kili's trembling and dripping body.  
Had Fili not been there, Thorin might have given in to those confusing dark urges. Part of him still regretted that he hadn't, but another growing part felt horrified that he had even considered such a thing. He needed to clear his head and so he stumbled out of the room and started up the stone steps.

When Thorin had taken his leave, Fili rushed over to Kili and lifted his wet legs with one arm to take the strain off his arms. With the other, he reached up to caress his brother's burning cheek.  
He murmured soothing words, "Shhhh, I am here now, little brother. I am here."  
Peering around to check out Kili's back, he was indeed surprised to see nothing more than a criss-cross of light pink welts. The skin although flushed, remained unbroken and un-bruised. There was no sign of blood, but still Kili trembled violently in Fili's arms. Despite the cold water dripping off him, his skin still felt feverishly hot. His wet eyes were screwed shut, locking the tears within. His breath hitched and he whimpered in pain.  
"It's ok, Kee," Fili crooned, resorting to the childhood nickname for his brother. He stroked Kili's scruffy cheek. "We're alone and now you can let it out."  
At those gentle words coming from the person he most trusted in this world, Kili could no longer hold his composure. His shoulders heaved as the anguished sobs tore from his throat.  
Fili understood that it was not merely the pain that made his brother sob, but the release of long held tension. He held his brother's trembling and burning body tightly until the sobs subsided and Kili managed to regain some composure and strength. Fili fumbled with the bottle of ointment, but could not manage to get the lid off with one hand.  
"Let me sooth your back, Kee." Fili whispered. "Can you stand?"  
Kili nodded and Fili lowered his feet gently back to the floor. He stepped behind his brother and started to apply the salve, working it gently into Kili's exhausted, burning muscles. The effect seemed to be immediate as Kili sighed with relief, and his trembling subsided quite a bit.  
Fili continued to massage his brother's back, shoulders and neck, enjoying the elasticity of the supple muscles and hot skin under his strong fingers. The light red welts vanished as Kili's skin began to lose the burning heat. He rubbed the salve up and down his brother's contoured arms, resting his bearded cheek lightly on the back of Kili's shoulder as he did so. Fili longed to run his tongue from between the jutting shoulder blades out across the gentle swell of his deltoids, and then down to the small of his back and even lower, but resisted the urge. His cheeks burned with shame at the feelings tugging hotly at his loins as he lovingly kneaded and caressed his brother's bare back and shoulders. How would Kili react if he knew his older brother was aroused from witnessing his pain and humiliation? But Fili could not help the way he was feeling and the strong feelings of shame were not enough to quell the delicious dull ache in his loins.

"Fili, Fee..." Kili's whisper was low and anguished. Fili brought his head closer to hear his brother's words.  
"Fee, I have been a terrible brother. You deserve much better...I'm so sorry..." Kili suppressed a sob.  
"No, no, hush now," Fili whispered, nuzzling his brother's neck with his nose. "You are a wonderful brother, _sannadadith (the perfect younger brother)_. So brave, so strong. I don't think that I could have endured this ordeal as well as you have. Rest now and regain your strength for I fear you will have to endure more before the night is over...." 

When Thorin came back down an hour later, he had regained his strength and felt mostly recovered from his strange violent fugue earlier. He was met with the sight of both brothers facing each other, their chests pressed together in what looked like a very intimate bear hug. At first glance, Thorin thought they had become involved and he stopped short, not wanting to intrude. But Kili's shorts, although damp were still in place, and Fili was still fully clothed. As he looked closer, he could see that Kili's legs were loosely wrapped around Fili's waist, his weight supported by Fili's left arm curled under his rear. Fili's other arm was wrapped tightly around Kili's back, and he was still slowly rubbing between his brother's shoulders. Kili's face was buried in his brother's neck, Fili's golden braids clashing against the tangled dark locks. His bound arms were no longer strained by the weight of his body, as Fili supported him so. Thorin marveled at the strength of the older brother, and of his devotion to the younger. He knew Fili must be exhausted holding his brother up in this way and for so long. Thorin also knew that the salve he had given Fili would have completely taken away the burning sensation in Kili's back as soon as it was applied, so Kili should be ready, at least physically for the next trial.

Thorin coughed politely as he stepped through the doorway. He detected the immediate stiffening of the muscles in Kili's arms as tension replaced slack at the sound of the cough.  
Then Kili lifted his head from Fili's neck and slowly, stiffly, untangled his legs from around Fili's waist. Fili gently released him, not letting go until he was sure Kili could stand on his own. Then he stepped away from his brother, unsure of where Thorin wanted him to go.  
Thorin came closer, "That looked quite cozy" he remarked with a smirk.  
Fili blushed and looked away.  
Kili just stood there his head bowed, slowly shifting from one foot to another as if trying to awaken them from slumber. He did not look at Thorin, and remained silent.

"We are going to try something different now", Thorin announced. "The whip was just a warm up for the real trial to come." He nodded in satisfaction at the slight trembling in Kili's shoulders when he heard those words. Fili's expression was so conflicted, it was almost comical. Thorin could see the warring emotions behind those piercing blue eyes. He knew Fili wanted to shield his brother from harm, yet was feeling guilty at the physical reaction he was having to his younger brother's ordeal. Thorin clasped Fili's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.  
"There is no need for you to be chained up this time. In fact, I want you right here helping me."  
Fili gulped, his eyes wide. "H...helping you?" he managed to stutter.  
Thorin nodded, and then pulled his nephew to the other side of the room, away from his brother. Taking Fili's bearded chin in his strong hand, he leaned close, held the other's gaze with his own, and whispered in a low voice so Kili could not hear. "Do not be ashamed at what you feel, dear nephew. It is not as unnatural as you may think. And it is not wrong." Thorin paused and grimaced as a long buried memory emerged and flitted across his mind.

It was a memory of his younger brother Frerin and the night they finally professed their love to each other after years of suffering in silence. It was the eve of what would come to be known as the _Battle of Azanulbizar_ ; the deadly final battle against the Orcs that would claim his beloved younger brother's life, as well as the lives of so many other loved ones.  
They had spent it together, a magical first time, but unaware that it would also be their last time. As they lay on furs on the floor of the tent, limbs entwined, exploring each other with fingers and tongues, both drunk with desire and the heady promises of their future to come, they regretted that they had not come together sooner. Still, they were thankful that they had finally both made their way to the other... 

Thorin closed his eyes, but not before Fili saw a deep sorrow fill them. Thorin sighed deeply, wearily. That was 141 years ago but always seemed like yesterday when he allowed himself to think about it, which was very rarely. He tried not to think of his brother, and was usually able to keep that memory buried deep. But lately he had noticed the way Fili stared at Kili with that same suffering look he imagined he had all those years ago. He wasn't entirely sure that Kili felt the same way, but he knew Kili looked up to his brother, would die for him if need arose, and would most likely wither if they were separated.  
Thorin tried to force the ghosts of the long past back down into the darkness where they belonged and opened his eyes.

"I know how you feel about your brother, Fili," Thorin continued in a low voice, not allowing his blushing nephew to look away. "The bond between brothers is strong...sometimes so strong that nothing and no-one else can or should break them. Do not make the mistake I did in ignoring that pull until it was almost too late."

Fili's brow furrowed. What mistake had Thorin made? He thought back at the glorious stories Thorin had told them of his past battles and suddenly realized that although they were usually told in great detail, Thorin never said much about the passing of their long dead uncle, Frerin who he knew died in battle 60 years before he himself came into the world. Frerin had been Thorin's younger brother by six years...Kili was his by five.  
Fili looked deep into Thorin's clear eyes and saw the lurking sorrow down there. He stifled the desire to ask his uncle more because he didn't think Thorin wanted to dwell on it. Instead Fili just nodded his understanding, and reached up to squeeze his elder's hand as it lay upon his shoulder.  
Thorin turned the focus back to Kili, "The pain I administer will break the childish part of your brother, but the pleasure will help bring forth the adult. Know that what I am about to do to him will seem cruel and unbearable, but as with the whip, there will be no lasting or serious damage. I know you love your brother dearly and witnessing this will be very difficult for you. But know that I love him too, and everything I do is to help him realize his true potential, no matter how harsh my methods may seem."

Fili swallowed and nodded, wondering very specifically what Thorin meant by _pleasure helping to bring forth the adult_. He would have to wait and see. Although he was still very anxious about how Kili would react to his feelings, at least Fili seemed to have Thorin's blessing which lifted a great weight from his heart.

With one last pat on Fili's back, Thorin walked back over to where Kili hung with bowed head, and considered him for a moment. Then he walked around to face him. He gently took his nephew's bristly chin in his hand, pulling his head up to look him in the eye. Kili flinched at the touch and stared back at him with dark wounded eyes.  
Thorin sighed. It was hard to remember at times how much the lad looked up to him and craved his praise. It seemed that in these past several years he had dealt out more criticism than praise to his youngest nephew. It wasn't that he was not proud of Kili's accomplishments: his fighting skills with the sword had improved greatly, his ability to shoot with the bow seemed second to none, and he was loyal, brave, kind hearted and naturally cheerful. Thorin had just been too busy with his own plans of late, and of grooming his eldest nephew to take the crown one day, to spend the time to tell Kili all this. He was also often too angry at his youngest nephew's irresponsible antics, especially when having to deal with them pulled him away from his work. Thorin wanted Kili to suffer physically through this trial of endurance, but he had no desire to break him mentally. Kili needed a bit of reassurance before Thorin would be able to continue.  
"You are doing surprisingly well, nephew." Thorin said in a gruff but gentle voice that seemed so unlike him of late.

Kili was surprised. He had almost forgotten this gentle and kind tone which belonged to the Thorin of his childhood. That was the Thorin who spent hours patiently teaching him how to use the bow and who praised him greatly when he came back triumphant from his first hunt, who told him and Fili long bedtime stories of great battles, who had hugged them close while his beard filled with their tears at the news of their father's death. It was hard for Kili to reconcile that Thorin with the Thorin of late who seemed so hard to please, so angry and impatient, so caught up in his plans for reclaiming the throne. In many ways, this sudden reminder of how his uncle used to be seared his heart more strongly than the whip had seared his back. Kili felt his lower lip quiver but forced himself to still.

Continuing to firmly hold Kili's chin, Thorin reached up and gently cupped the nape of his nephew's neck with his other warm hand. "You are my youngest sister-son and I love you as if you were my own, even as you drive me to madness at times...I know I give your brother a lot more of my attention, as it is important he learn how to rule someday, but this does not mean you are not important to me." Thorin gazed earnestly into his nephew's eyes, seeing some of the pain start to dissipate.  
"You have endured much thus far, but I need to know that you can endure more before I can accept you as the adult you long to be." Thorin paused, gently squeezing Kili's neck. "What happens next is designed to break you down. If you want to stop now I will be disappointed, but I will understand. And I will still love you, even if I cannot take you with me."

At those words, Kili felt his resolve harden. All his life he had strived to make his uncle proud of him, something he had not seemed able to do for many a year. Now he was determined to see this through no matter the cost. He had to be allowed to accompany them to Erebor.  
He finally spoke, "I wish to continue, Uncle." he said in a breathless but steady voice laced with steel.  
Thorin smiled kindly, but the fierce predatory look was creeping back in his eyes. "Good lad. I hope you do not regret your decision then." Turning to Fili, Thorin told him to untie his brother, take the leather straps, and lead him over to the two round stone columns to the right of the brazier.

Fili did as he was bidden, undoing and removing the leather straps and letting Kili's arms down. As he slowly led his younger brother to the columns, making sure he did not stumble, he also rubbed Kili's aching arms and wrists, and whispered encouraging words. Kili, although apprehensive of what would happen next, took great comfort in Fili's touch and voice.

Thorin reached down to where he had dropped the glowing whip, picked it up and tucked it between his belt and bare hip, feeling its warmth begin to radiate through his skin and send little titillating tendrils throughout his body. Along with the warmth came again that sharp scent of blood, and he wondered at the power of this whip and its connection to this room. Earlier as he had inspected it in his bedchamber it seemed a normal whip adorned with a bright red gem. It had not started glowing until he had brought it down here. He pulled his thoughts back in telling himself that he shouldn't worry....that he wasn't even going to use the thing anymore.  
"Tie his wrists and ankles firmly to each of those columns." Thorin commanded, his voice no longer kind and gentle.

Fili gently took Kili's left wrist and attached it with the leather straps to the iron loop high on the left column, well aware of the feel of his brother's strong biceps against his own. To be able to bind his right wrist, he had to press his body against Kili's, his left hip against his brother's right, and stretch his arm out to fit the loop of the strap around the wrist. He heard and felt Kili's warm breath quicken against his neck, and it sent goose skin down his own arms and across his back. After cinching the strap, he stayed still a moment, enjoying the heat emanating from his brother's chest. He longed to caress Kili's chest and abdomen, letting his fingers trace the valleys between the gentle hills of his muscles. Instead he dropped to one knee to tie Kili's ankles. He tried not to think about how close he was to Kili's groin as he strapped his brother's ankles in. Then he stood and forced himself to step back. Kili now stood spread-eagled between the two columns, grimacing a little from the discomfort.  
"I'm sorry." Fili mouthed silently.

Kili smiled bravely and nodded. At least this time his feet lay flat on the floor even if his legs were spread, and his cramped arms were not as strained in this different position, pulled outwards to the sides instead of straight up. He wondered if Thorin was going to use the whip again. He couldn't help but shudder at the thought.

Thorin walked over, bringing a fresh bucket of water and a cloth with him. He handed them to Fili. "You may use this to soothe his brow if you like."  
Fili nodded and took the items. He was trying hard to not look at his brother again, already aroused from strapping him up. Seeing his brother bound was certainly having quite an effect on him, he thought a little ruefully as he adjusted his trousers.

Thorin stripped off his own shirt down to his bare chest and then took a moment to stretch his arms and flex his fingers. Fili stared at his uncle as he had countless times before, admiring the rippling arms, and muscular chest forested with dark fur that swirled down across the toned stomach to dip below the belt. Thorin's body was a map of battles won and skirmishes lost.  
When he and his brother were much younger, they would point to a scar and ask for the story behind it. Many a bedtime tale revolved around the origin of these fascinating marks. Thorin would let them trace the scars with their fingers as he told the story.  
Fili smiled at the memories. Almost daily weapons practice and working at the forge kept his uncle in as good a shape as he must have been back in those old days of glorious battles.

After stretching, Thorin pulled out a different pot of some ointment, and dipped his fingers in. Then he went behind Kili, and started to massage the ointment onto his nephew's trembling back. "First I need to know what your threshold is, Kili. So what I am about to do to you now is going to seem quite unbearable. Know that screaming or fainting is not a sign of weakness."  
To Fili, Thorin gave a sharp warning look, "Do not interfere or I will chain you up again."

Kili felt his heart hammer as he heard these words. What could his uncle possibly do to him now? In anticipation he clenched both fists around the leather straps holding him in place, and tried to deepen his breaths, readying himself for what was to come.

Fili was also alarmed at his uncle's words. Thorin didn't have the whip out this time although he saw it still tucked in his uncle's belt and still glowing faintly. In fact, except for the pot of ointment, he held nothing at all. But Fili recalled the violent fugue he saw Thorin slip into while he brandished that enchanted whip. Thorin said that there would be no real physical harm to his brother, but could he trust those words? His uncle certainly had not seemed in control while brandishing that whip.  
He glanced at his brother, breathing catch at the sight. Kili was trying to put on a brave face, but Fili could tell he was terrified. He was biting the corner of his lip nervously, locks of dark hair falling into his troubled wide eyes. Fili wanted to go to him and.... he wasn't sure! How could the sight of his brother looking so vulnerable and helpless cause his heart to break with empathy at the same time his loins were filled with lust? If given the choice, he honestly did not know which he would do ---gather his brother into his arms and hold him until his pain diminished, or revel in it and have his way with him. Despite the arousal Fili felt at watching his brother bound and thrashed, he did not think he himself could be the author of that severe pain.

Thorin flexed his fingers and mumbled to himself. "Been a while since I've done this....mayhap a bit rusty at first." He carefully ran his calloused fingers lightly across Kili's back and shoulders as if probing for something well hidden. After a short while the fingers on his right hand came to rest at a spot on Kili's back right below his neck, to the right of his spine. With his left hand he firmly grasped his nephew's left shoulder, digging his fingers into the supple flesh. Then with his eyes closed and with great concentration, he started to slowly move his two right fingers across Kili's back in a certain way, as if he were tracing a rune or was trying to feel out a vein of gold deep within the rock. As he felt his way to the pressure points, that familiar pleasurable heat start to rise in his chest. It excited him but also left him feeling a little uneasy. It was similar to the feeling he had when he brandished the whip. He shrugged off the uneasiness and continued.

At first, Thorin's fingers moving down his back felt good. But as they continued downwards, Kili started to feel a deep burning sensation that emanated from where his uncle's fingers pressed. It seemed to spread out in all directions, rising in intensity and lighting every nerve ending on fire as it went. Kili tried to hold his breath as the burning engulfed him, but he could not prevent himself from groaning through gritted teeth. His hot skin was suddenly drenched in sweat and the muscles in his back and shoulders began to spasm. His clenched fists were pulling so hard at the leather straps binding them that his arms rippled with the effort. Jolts of lightning shot down his legs, and still the burning intensified. He started to gasp for air, feeling as though his lungs themselves were on fire.

Thorin felt the effect he was having on his nephew through his fingers, in the way all Kili's muscles began to tense, in the slickness of his sweaty skin, and in the hitched gasps that made his body jerk. With every jerk and gasp, Thorin felt more and more tensely ecstatic. He couldn't help but to welcome the strange heat that continued to flood his body, caressing and arousing him. He was trying to concentrate but had to work hard to prevent himself from moaning in pleasure. He continued to slowly work his fingers down his nephew's back, moving this way, then that way, all with his eyes closed, brow furrowed. It seemed that the more intense the pain he caused Kili, the more aroused he seemed to become.

Fili could not help but watch in morbid fascination at the effect this was having on his brother. Kili's eyes which had been screwed shut were now wide open, darting about wildly like a trapped and doomed animal searching for any possible escape. His arms and legs tugged frantically against the bonds holding them in place. The low groans that emanated deep within his belly grew louder and louder as his back began to arch, his chest rising upwards, every muscle seeming to stand out in rigid relief. The sweat was running off of him in rivulets, and his loud groaning transitioned into a high pitched breathy keening.  
Still Thorin pressed on, eyes still tightly shut, but beginning to pant. Now Fili became aware of his uncle's odd reaction. Thorin's lip was curled into a semi-sneer, his breathing coming fast and shallow through his bared teeth. It looked as if he was slowly caressing Kili as he held him close. Fili stared at Thorin's flushed face, his heaving chest, the unmistakable bulge in his trousers, and was suddenly struck with the realization that his uncle was intensely aroused in some strange way at what he was doing to poor Kili.

Kili's handsome face was contorted with the pain, his mouth now agape, his breathing coming fast and shallow. His loud keening hitched with lack of breath.  
Fili suddenly remembered the bucket of water and quickly soaked the towel and tried to wipe his brother's sweaty strained brow. When would Thorin stop? Fili put his hand on his brother's arm meaning to comfort him and was amazed at how hard his flesh was. His muscles were pulled so taut, Fili thought Kili's tendons would snap.  
Suddenly Kili threw his head way back, and a terrible anguished howl was rent from his throat. With that, he went slack, having passed out.

From within the haze of heat and loins aching with need, Thorin sensed that Kili was no longer tense and struggling. With difficulty he stopped what he was doing and opened his eyes, the thick desire to press his fingers into his nephew's trembling back slowly fading. He tried to steady his quick breaths and wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his hand.

"What did you do to him?!" Fili demanded, dropping the bucket. "How did you do that to him? How can you torture him like that with only your touch?"  
Thorin, still breathing heavily, regarded Fili balefully. It was a while before he could trust himself to speak without his voice quavering. "It's an ancient technique I learned long ago," he answered shortly. "It's been a while since I last used it, but it is quite a useful technique. Applying a certain sort of pressure to the right spots causes an intense burning sensation. But like the whip, it is not long lasting, and does not do any permanent damage.  
He looked at Kili hanging from his arms, limp between the two columns and licked his lips at the sight. He didn't remember feeling this aroused years ago when he first learned this technique. Was it his youngest nephew that caused him to feel this way, or was it something else? He took a deep breath and tried to clear his head. He glanced at Fili, "Your brother is quite stubborn when he wants to be. Not many would have lasted as long as he just did at that level of intensity."  
Fili gently wiped Kili's sweaty face with the wet cloth. He wasn't sure he could have lasted that long.

Thorin dipped his fingers in the ointment again and rubbed them slowly together. "However, now that I know his breaking point, I will do my best not to cross it... too often. But before I continue, let me demonstrate a different technique that I'm sure you will appreciate." He turned back to Kili's limp form and started to run his fingers down his spine to the small of his back again.  
Fili could tell that this time the movements were different, and in his unconscious state, Kili sighed deeply.

Kili stirred, and began to emerge from the darkness. His body felt physically drained as if he had just come from an hour's long wrestling match with a bear. His throat felt raw, as if he had been inhaling flames from the great forge. He remembered there being a terrible all-consuming pain much worse than the fiery whip, but strangely could not feel it now. There was only the strain on his arms from holding his body up. He struggled to stand on his feet again. Now he became aware of the soothing touch on his back that warmed him and caused his sore muscles to relax. As the gentle touch continued, a pleasant heat grew, starting deep in his loins. The feeling slowly grew in intensity and he felt his heart began to beat fast again, but this time it wasn't due to pain. He stifled a gasp as he felt the soothing heat suddenly rise up and fill him. With embarrassment and horror, he realized he was hardening down below. He clenched the muscles in his ass to prevent his hips from thrusting forward. He was panting now, and as the strange waves of this intense pleasure swelled up and crashed over him, an involuntary low moan of arousal escaped his lips. His knees began to tremble.  
Thorin took his fingers from Kili's back and the heady feelings of arousal lessened to a pleasant warm glow. Kili sighed at the sudden loss of contact, but with relief he felt himself slowly soften again. He felt his face grow hot and he hoped neither his brother nor uncle noticed what had just happened.

Fili noticed. He stood there with his mouth and eyes wide open, watching the flush creep across his younger brother's cheeks. When Kili had moaned in that way, Fili almost fell to his knees, his own muscles weakened from the sudden intense desire he felt to touch his brother and be with him. With a deep steadying breath he looked over at his uncle in amazement. How was this possible? What dark arts was Thorin applying to his helpless brother, and how came he by this art?

Thorin was staring intently at Kili, his teeth bared in a half snarl and half grin. He stroked his beard, clearly pleased with himself and the effect he was able to have on his young nephew.  
"Well done" Thorin murmured, lightly sliding his palms across his nephew's slick sweaty shoulders. "Now that we know your breaking point, we can begin." Thorin was eager to start working on Kili's back again, to feel the way his nephew's muscles writhed under his expert probing touch, to feel that pulsing warmth in his own groin. The whip tucked into his belt felt warm, sending hot pulsing waves into his hip. Part of him felt that there was something wrong here, but a stronger part desiring the dark arousal did not care. "Prepare yourself." he hissed into his nephew's ear.  
Once again Thorin grasped Kili's shoulder with his left hand while the right moved across the young dwarf's tensed back, searching for the right spot. This time he kept his eyes open, his fingers remembering the route.

Once again, Kili felt his nerves start to burn, the searing growing in scope. But unlike before, the pain intensified more slowly. "Mahal!" He gasped as the fire crept up his spine, and across his shoulders and chest. The burning spread into every part of him, igniting muscles he didn't know existed before. He felt his back began to arch again, as if the hot current running through his veins was tightening every tendon it touched. His muscles quivered and he began to sweat as the pain filled him, intense and fiery but holding steady. He could not prevent the breathy groans erupting from his throat as his body writhed violently under the onslaught.

Thorin smiled grimly, enjoying the power he had to cause his young nephew to tremble and quake. He also welcomed back the heat in his loins, which grew in intensity with Kili's every groan, and every twitch of the muscle as Thorin ran his fingers across the slick supple skin, finding those tender spots and carefully pressing them. Not too hard, not too deep, for he didn't want Kili to escape into a faint again. Thorin moved his hand from Kili's shoulder and squeezed his rippled arm, enjoying the trembling and taut coiling of muscles. It was as if Kili was an exotic instrument, and he the musician. A small part of him knew that he was once again under the influence of the magic in the whip, but that small part was not strong enough to make him care. The red swirling shadows reappeared behind his eyes, gently whispering to him that he deserved this delicious arousal after so many years of struggling. The seductive whispering continued, slowly filling his loins with a swirling hot need.

Clenching and unclenching his fists, Fili was beside himself. Part of him wanted to tear Thorin away from his little brother and end this suffering, but another part of him wanted to run his hands all over Kili, explore every hill and valley of his torso with his tongue and teeth. Kili's desperate groans and labored panting was causing Fili to grow harder, and he imagined how it would be to feel that desperate panting against his neck as he ran his hands down his younger brothers bound body. He took a few uncertain steps towards them.

Thorin stepped in closer as well, brushing his bearded chin against his nephew's back, pressing his hips forward to rub himself against Kili's trembling flank. His free arm curled around Kili's side and he began to roughly squeeze and rub his palm over the taut chest. Thorin felt his own heat rising with Kili's pain. He let the intensity of his touch lessen a little allowing the both of them to catch their breath. Then he started in again. Over and over he pushed Kili to the crystal sharp edge of unbearable pain where the young dwarf teetered on the brink of blissful oblivion, only to be denied that relief as Thorin eased back. Every time he pushed Kili to that excruciating point, his own body was taken to the pinnacle of that exquisite pleasure. He was hard but the throbbing waves were not confined to one part of him, instead filling his whole being. The red shadows were now weaving around faster in strange intricate patterns behind his eyes, filling his vision with the red haze, his ears with whispers that urged him to continue, and his nostrils with the cloying scent of blood. The shadows seemed to penetrate his muscles, weaving around tendons, infusing his limbs with power, but at the same time easing the control of his own body away from him. If it wasn't for this strange influence, he could not have prevented himself from pushing both Kili and himself over the edge. But it seemed the whip was not ready for that yet, and it held him back.

Kili's body was rigid and transfixed in the flaring furnace of the dragon's breath. His head was thrown back, mouth wide open to scream. However, the scream was silent; he had no breath of his own to expel, the fire blazing in his heart and lungs having consumed it. The terrible pain ripped through his body like a mindless clawing beast trying to escape the prison of flesh and bone. It howled within him as it rose up, that terrible, primal cry filling his head to bursting. As the beast's shrieks spilled from his open mouth, they seemed palpable; sharpened shards rising in a crescendo of jagged red crystals that then exploded into a fine fiery haze. The haze floated and shimmered in his mind's eye before slowly sliding towards the blackness like dying sparks. Just as he was about to slip away into the comforting darkness, the conflagration within died down, and he was pulled from the black back into the semi bearable burn of smoldering embers. His body slowly became his own again and he groaned with his own voice as he became aware of his trembling aching muscles and burning lungs. He also became more aware of the room around him, although it swam about his blurry vision making him dizzy. His dark hair was plastered to his cheeks, drenched in sweat. His throat was almost hoarse from yelling, and he had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from crying out for mercy and begging for an end to this terrible onslaught. 

Thorin had lessened the intensity enough that Kili could now feel the cool wet cloth on his brow. He was dimly aware that Fili was standing in front of him, and this gave him some comfort. He groaned his brother's name, but it came out as a dry whisper.  
Fili caught some of the water from the bucket in his cupped hand and brought it to Kili's mouth to wet his lips. It dribbled down his chin. Kili opened his mouth so that some of the next cupped handful of water could go down his throat. It wasn't enough to slake his terrible thirst, but what little he received was deliciously cool.

Fili was hopeful that this torturous session was over, but when he saw that red gleaming madness in his uncle's glowing eyes, his hopes fell. There was something awfully wrong here. The dwarf standing before him was not Thorin. This madman was a vicious sadistic beast, corrupted by some ancient dark evil. "Uncle!" Fili pleaded, hoping the sound of his voice would help bring Thorin back. "Don't you think he has endured enough already?" Fili tried to grasp Thorin's arm.

But Thorin shrugged him off and began to increase the pressure again. He was too caught up in the rising intense waves, too attuned to the whispering red shadows in his head to hear his eldest nephew speak. Once again the delicious searing power coursing through his veins dimmed his vision in a swath of red haze. He started to pant as the bloodlust rose higher and higher. His hips thrust forward, and he pressed and rubbed against his nephew's trembling hip. He growled into Kili's ear, "If you were captured by Orcs, they would torture you for information. Would you give in to them?" He nipped sharply at Kili's shoulder, causing him to wince.  
"No!" Kili gasped, fighting the darkness that crowded around the edge of his vision. "Never...give...in..." He tried to force the words out through the rising consuming inferno.  
Thorin chuckled deeply and darkly, the sound sending chills down Fili's spine. "No? But what if they did this to you?"  
With great relish, Thorin suddenly pushed down hard on a particular spot in the small of Kili's back.

Kili's body suddenly snapped taut, every muscle locked in a fiery vice of agony almost beyond comprehension. He screamed and the room around him shattered into a crimson haze, and there was nothing left but a loud red buzzing and the crystal sharp edge of his tattered nerves. Then he slumped and slid into the comforting black.

That terrible sudden scream tore into Fili's mind and gripped the irrational animal part of him. A sudden fury filled him sweeping aside any coherent thought, and propelling him to react. With a vicious snarl, he threw himself against his uncle, knocking both of them over onto the cold stone floor, he atop Thorin. Blinded by rage, he started to swing his fists.

Thorin was taken by surprise at this sudden onslaught, but his many years of battle experience kicked in and he instinctively deflected the blows aimed at his face. The swirling red shadows gave him the strength to catch his attacker's fists and easily flip him over so that he was now the one on top. The whip's power coursing through his veins, coupled with the friction of the squirming beneath him caused more intense waves of hot desire to crash over him. The red haze of his blissful delirium took away what little rational thought he clung to, and he only wanted to subdue and possess whomever it was that attacked him. With a loud growl, he grasped his foe's wrists easily in his hands, and forced the struggling arms above the golden head, pinning them against the hard floor. They were now chest to chest, his face buried in the golden locks of the other. Thorin was easily able to grasp both wrists in his left hand, freeing up his right. He enjoyed the feel of his enemy wriggling underneath him. There was a distant roaring from afar, but the whispering red shadows were louder and blocked most of it out. He took his free arm and placed it across the enemy's throat. Then he slowly began to push down against the windpipe.

Being flipped over and pinned down so easily startled Fili out of his primal rage. Now looking into Thorin's contorted snarling face above his own, seeing that ardent ravenous look in his eye, he felt a chill sinking into his gut, sickening him. Struggling seemed to do no good as he quickly realized that his Uncle's strength was not merely his own. "Uncle, snap out of it!" he yelled up at Thorin, but to no avail. As the pressure increased on his throat, his vision blurred, and filled with red shooting stars.  
Fili fought to remain conscious, but there was no air, and the darkness eventually sucked him down.

The whip had no intention of allowing Thorin to kill his captive; it just wanted him in a weakened state. When Thorin felt the tension drain from the body beneath him, he let up his arm and released his hold on the wrists he had held bound. He reached around to his hip, pulled out his dagger, and quickly ran it up the middle of the other's shirt, cutting cloth and ripping straps until the golden haired chest was bared. He slowly pressed his palm down on the warm skin where the heart would be and felt it sluggishly thump against his palm. Then he placed the tip of the dagger at the throat of his captive with one hand, and ran his palm and fingers across the golden furred hard swells of his captive's chest with the other. Slowly he slid his palm down the slope from the ribcage, his desire to possess growing with the intensity of the throbbing in his loins. He was enjoying the feel of the warm ridges across the abdomen where muscle coupled with muscle, but he wanted to explore even lower. Thorin rolled to the right, shifting his weight off his captive and then knelt over him from the side. Keeping the point of the dagger at the bared throat, Thorin continued to run his palm down the warm ridges of the softly rising abdomen, and even further down, delving between skin and cloth to the thick patch of curly fur below. The other shifted, starting to awaken, and Thorin paused.

"Kili?" Fili croaked painfully as the room around him began to emerge out of the grayness. But it wasn't his brother pressing against his side, he wasn't lying in his warm bed, and there was a dark form with glowing red eyes leaning over him. For a moment he was confused, but then it came back to him. His uncle...gripped in some sort of evil spell, was now looming over him.  
Fili scrambled to sit up, but became painfully aware of the point of the dagger at his throat when it stuck him. He froze. That's when he also became aware of the hot calloused hand slowly sliding across his pelvic bone, and going lower.  
"No!" he managed to rasp through his bruised windpipe. He tried ineffectually to grab the intruding limb. "Thorin...Uncle. Stop! You are not yourself."  
His uncle responded with a snarl and a string of unintelligible words, but did not stay his hand. Instead, Thorin's dagger pushed further up under his neck, forcing his chin up. Then the rough hot hand suddenly grasped his most intimate part in a grip far too tight. He gasped at the contact, and winced at the pain, not daring to move, willing himself to remain limp, but failing in that regard. The grasp although painful caused him to stir. He cursed silently to himself. Seeing what Thorin had done to his brother by merely touching his back, Fili did not want to imagine what Thorin could do to him whilst handling his cock. He remained as still as he could, stifling a groan as his uncle roughly squeezed and stroked him to attention.

Thorin wasn't content to just touch and squeeze. He wanted to fully possess, and so released his hold in order to try to strip his captive down further. But in that moment, Fili suddenly wrenched himself into a sideways roll away. The dagger point sliced from where the tip had been embedded, up the side of his throat along his jaw line. He hissed at the sharp pain and hoped it hadn't nicked his jugular. The wound burned and he felt the warm blood flowing down his neck. He wanted to see how badly he was cut, but more important now was that he get away from Thorin's grasp. He propelled himself to his feet and half leapt, half stumbled over the low stone table, putting it between himself and his uncle.

Thorin roared his rage and displeasure. He staggered to his feet and turned to face his escaped foe.  
That's when Fili saw that the coiled whip pressed against Thorin's bare skin held there by the belt around his waist was glowing bright red. As his uncle slowly approached him, eyes glowing the same as the whip, Fili knew he had to somehow get that weapon away from Thorin without letting the older and stronger dwarf close enough to overpower him. He wished he had a weapon of some sort. He looked down at the stone table where Kili's clothes and Thorin's fur cloak lay. He silently cursed himself and his brother for not bringing any weapons down here. Not even a bow, or a dagger. For lack of anything better, he picked up Thorin's fur lined cloak figuring he might be able to throw it on him. The warm blood continued running down his neck and chest. He didn't think it had cut through anything too important, or he would have lost consciousness by now. He held the cloak out in both hands and waited warily for his uncle to approach.

Thorin wanted to run over and tackle his foe, but the red swirling shadows whispering in his head told him otherwise. So instead he took the glowing whip from his hip and started to uncoil it.  
Fili stared at the whip with dismay. He did not want that cursed thing touching him.  
Thorin reached back with the whip, and then flicked it forward.  
Fili tried to block the lash with the cloak, but it came too fast and he felt the fiery lick of it on his chest. He hissed in pain realizing then, as the fire seared through his flesh and continued to flare outwards, the extent of what Kili must have endured earlier. One blow felt like a burning iron brand. Kili had taken upwards of 25 to 30 lashes. A second flick of the lash caught his cheek, and he yelped, the blazing pain causing his eye to water.  
In desperation Fili grabbed one of Kili's boots and flung it hard at his uncle, catching him on the side of the head. Thorin staggered back a couple steps, and Fili took that opportunity to leap at him and toss the cloak over his head. Thorin bellowed and tried to tear the heavy cloth away. Fili grabbed the boot and walloped Thorin on the head with it until his enraged uncle stumbled to one knee and dropped the whip. Then Fili swooped down, grabbed up the whip and in one fluid motion, tossed it into the blazing fire.  
He was overcome by a sudden dizziness and grabbed at one of the broken stone column chunks to prevent himself from falling down.

Thorin finally ripped the cloak from his head and staggered to his feet still bellowing with rage. The red haze had dissipated enough that he could see his enemy clutching the column. With a snarl, he leapt at Fili, knocking the weakened bleeding dwarf down to the floor below him. He punched his foe in the side and was satisfied at the grunt of pain he heard.  
Fili wheezed, his breath having been knocked out of him. With his uncle's full weight atop him, the punching and his weakened state from loss of blood, there was nothing Fili could do but hope that Thorin would come back to his senses before he ended up killing his heir.  
"Mahal, Thorin!" Fili gasped, "Its Fili, your nephew....stop!"

Though he was still filled with rage, Thorin no longer felt the presence of the red whispering shadows, and no longer felt the power coursing through his body. Instead there was a nagging voice within his head telling him that there was something wrong. With every blow he landed, his body felt weaker and weaker, his limbs feeling like they were being weighed down with heavy stones. Exhausted and out of breath, he had to stop. He was confused and disoriented. He could remember a great anger and a great pleasure, but not much else. Finally his eyes cleared and he looked down at the body he was straddling. It was Fili, but he looked like he had been wounded in a terrible battle. His face and chest were streaked and sticky with blood that was still oozing from a gash in his neck. The blood had coated his beard and blond braids, there was a crimson trickle coming from the corner of his mouth, and he was only half conscious.

"Fili?" Thorin shook his head trying to clear the fog. He frowned trying to understand what was happening. Fili groaned beneath him. Thorin rolled off his nephew and looked for something to staunch the flow of blood. He took an un-bloodied part of his nephew's tattered shirt and tore a piece off. He pressed it to the bloody neck and held it there whilst cradling Fili's head in his lap.  
As he sat there staunching the flow of blood, his heart full of anguished worry, fragments of his memories began to surface. He remembered the feelings of desire and power, and how causing his youngest nephew pain heightened his own pleasure. He recalled the whip and the whispering red shadows, and then realized that he was the cause of Fili's condition, even if he could not recall all the details. "Fili!" he cried out in horror. "What have I done?"

Hearing the cry of anguish, Fili stirred and looked up into the grief stricken face of his uncle. His blue eyes filled with relief.  
"Uncle!" he rasped through his sore throat, "Thank Mahal you are yourself again!" He struggled to sit up, wincing in pain from his bruised ribs.

"No, no, you should rest, nephew." Thorin said, caressing Fili's head.  
"I am fine. But Kili...." Wincing, Fili craned his neck to look upon his younger brother who still hung there by his arms, limp and motionless.  
Thorin followed Fili's sight and upon seeing Kili's state, felt another great pang of guilt and regret. "Kili..." he whispered. Fili was determined to struggle to his feet, so Thorin stood as well, supporting his nephew on his arm, although his own limbs felt weighed down as if filled with wet sand.  
"The whip..?" he asked, his voice thick with an unidentified emotion.

Fili tossed his head in the direction of the brazier. Thorin looked and could see the burning remains. For a moment he was filled with the sense of a great loss accompanied by a flaring anger, but he struggled to swallow both, knowing that those feelings were entirely irrational.  
Clutching his ribs, Fili was trying to stumble towards his brother, but Thorin held him back. "Wait, let me tend to your wounds first, or you will faint before you can help Kili." He took the wet cloth from the bucket and washed the blood off his nephew's chest, neck and hair. It took another bucket of icy water to completely wash the blood off of him. Then he pulled out the jar of ointment and made Fili sit on one of the stone tables. He slathered the ointment onto his nephew's wounded neck and cheek.  
Immediately Fili felt the burning of both wounds cease.  
Then Thorin gently worked the ointment onto his nephew's ribcage, feeling around to make sure there was nothing broken.  
Fili was able to breathe a little better, the sharp pain dwindling down to a dull ache.

"What is in that salve?" Fili asked, his voice still a little raspy from his bruised windpipe.  
"Never mind that." Thorin answered somewhat shortly. "Just be glad it works." In truth, it was a salve given to his own grandfather by elves many years ago. Thorin hated the elves but could not deny the worth of their healing magic. He didn't want to admit this to his nephews given the amount of time he spent putting them down.  
When he was satisfied that Fili was ok, he let him up. They both went over to where Kili hung.  
Thorin took the salve and started rubbing it into Kili's back, neck, and up his arms.  
"Kili is not really in any harsh physical pain right now." Thorin muttered to Fili. "But he has been broken and needs to be healed...in a different way."

Fili cocked an eyebrow at his uncle. Thorin looked him in the eye. "You are going to heal him, Fili. I will show you." Thorin stepped behind his nephew, placed his left hand on Fili's shoulder and reached around to take his nephew's right hand in his own. He placed it palm down upon Kili's warm back. Then he pressed upon two of Fili's fingers and started to guide them in a certain way. "Do you feel that?" he asked his nephew, his breath hot in Fili's ear.  
Fili nodded, not sure what it was he was feeling. It seemed almost like a hot current running under his brother's skin. "What is that?" he asked in wonder.  
Thorin's only response was to continue to guide his nephew's hand. "Just follow that stream where it goes." he finally answered. "Doing this is causing his muscles to relax, to release their tension. That is the first step."

Kili started to stir, letting out a shuddering breath that trailed into a low groan.  
"Am I hurting him?" Fili cried out, wanting to yank his hand away.  
Thorin did not release his hold. "No. Keep going. You are soothing him." As if in response, Kili's breath deepened and he sighed. Fili felt the tension leaving the tightened and strained muscles.  
"If you continue in this way, you can bring him to a state of ...extreme arousal..." Thorin's voice was low and husky.  
Fili turned his head to glance back at his uncle. Thorin's face was so close to his own, that the King's beard tickled Fili's nose. He expected to see lust or a ravenous hunger reflected in his uncle's eyes. Instead there was a sad and wistful look, a look of long-suffered yearning. Fili wondered if Thorin desired Kili in the same way he did, or if Kili merely reminded him of Frerin, lost these many long years.

Thorin noticed his nephew staring at him with a strange look. He sighed. "Fili...." he started, then paused, trying to find the right words. "You know I would never willingly bring harm to you or your brother...What happened here tonight..." he faltered, feeling a rush of guilt and anguish.  
Fili heard the catch in his uncle's strained voice and saw his pale blue eyes sparkle in the firelight with unshed tears. Alarmed, he turned his head back to face his brother.  
Thorin took a deep breath and continued, "What happened here tonight was never meant to be. It was merely to be a simple trial of physical endurance... a tangible way for your brother to be tested, to endure, and so then meaningfully pass from youth to adult. I never meant to take it as far as it went..." his voice hitched and he paused again, trying to wrestle back control of his emotions.

Fili's own eyes blurred with unbidden tears as he heard the anguish in Thorin's voice. Today was the first time he remembered ever witnessing his uncle in such a deep state of emotional vulnerability. Usually Thorin's reaction to expected or unexpected duress was to become angry and strike out, or to spend long hours obsessing and arguing out loud with himself and anyone fool enough to come close, or even to firmly decide to not deal with the problem, leaving it for others to fix. True, there had been several times in the past when he had witnessed momentary glimpses of raw terror and pain in his uncle's eyes when either he or Kili became injured.  
One such time occurred many years ago when Fili, barely 30 had fallen off his horse to land atop his sword, the blade piercing him deep enough to cause heavy bleeding, but thankfully avoiding any internal organs. Thorin had rushed over, and even in his pain, Fili remembered that mad despairing look in his uncle's eye, only to see it turn to relief when he realized that Fili would live. But the relief had been short lived, turning quickly to anger aimed at the clumsiness of his heir. Fili suspected the anger was more to cover up that terrible vulnerability Thorin had been forced to face at the possibility of losing him.  
But here now was Thorin laying bare his soul, no stoic mask upon his face, the pain and guilt shining openly in his eyes. Fili was unsure of how to proceed. "Uncle... it was not you in control, but that cursed whip. Do not blame yourself..."

Thorin slowly and sadly shook his head. "Mayhap, but I was the one foolish enough to use it without knowing the power it had or could hold over me. I should have known that using it down here was a bad idea when I saw it begin to glow. I think somehow it being in close proximity to this place with its ancient blood splattered floor and walls caused it to awaken. I knew as soon as I delivered that first blow, that it was wrong....but the way it made me feel..." Thorin paused and grimaced. "I was weak. What happened may not have been my intent, but it is my responsibility, and I must bear the guilt for what transpired here."

After a moment of awkward silence, Fili felt he needed to ask, "Uncle..." he asked haltingly, "Do you...do you love him?" He was not sure he wanted to hear the answer.  
Thorin frowned. "Fili, I love you both as a father would love his sons. However... brandishing that wretched whip brought forth feelings that I am not sure were not entirely... my own." Thorin paused as if taking measure of the words he was about to say. In a soft low voice he continued, "Although I had not consciously considered it before, I think that there is a part of me that could possibly love both of you as..." he paused then whispered, " _Azyungali_." _Lovers_.

Fili suddenly became very aware of the proximity of Thorin's bare chest to his back, the strong touch of his rough hand as he guided Fili's own across Kili's back, of Thorin's warm breath against his neck. He recalled Thorin's grip on his cock and wondered just how much his uncle recalled of those violent moments of madness. He blushed, thinking about it.  
Thorin chuckled low, sensing his nephew's discomfort. He squeezed Fili's left shoulder, and then fondly caressed his nephew's cheek, absently tugging at the golden braid on the side of his head. "Don't be alarmed. No matter my feelings however deeply or shallowly they may be buried within, I feel no pressing need to act upon them. Kili is yours and yours alone. You need to make him aware of that tonight." 

Kili stirred again, starting to revive from his faint.  
Thorin let go of Fili's hand and stepped back. Fili glanced back at him, a look of nervous trepidation on his face. Thorin just smiled tiredly as he went to sit on his cloak on the stone floor. "I will rest here and let you take over. It will be ok, Fili."  
Fili swallowed and turned his attention back to following that odd hot current running up Kili's spine and across his shoulders.

"Fili?" Kili mumbled, trying to move but then realizing that he was still bound. There was a soothing hand massaging his back, creating little ripples of pleasure that reverberated through his body. He shivered, remembering the feeling of being skewered through his lungs and heart by a metal rod left too long in the fires of a forge. He groaned a little at that memory, but there was no pain accompanying it. There was also something horrible about Orcs, but that might have been a dream. Now there was just a delicious firm pressure being applied to his back. He opened his eyes but saw only a blurry shifting of light and shadow.  
"Shhhhh" came his brother's low voice from behind his neck. "It's me, Kee. Your ordeal is over and I will help you recover."  
The warmth in his back spread out like molten treacle spilling down into his stomach and slowly dripping into his groin. It was similar to the arousing sensation from before, but not quite as intense. Kili closed his eyes and sighed in contentment, feeling safe with Fili behind him.

Fili was enjoying the feel of his brother's sinewy back and shoulders, and this time he allowed himself the pleasure. He placed his lips softly on the top of Kili's shoulder near his neck and gave a little nibble. He was rewarded with a little shiver and a soft exhalation of breath. Fili let his free hand slide around Kili's side following the outline of his ribcage to his abdomen. He lightly ran his palm across the taut furrowed surface. He longed to dip lower and caress him to attention, but he did not want to unduly alarm his brother. Instead, he increased the pressure on Kili's back just a little, feeling that hot current flowing beneath his fingers strengthening. He felt himself start to stir below.  
"Ahhhh" Kili moaned softly, letting his head fall back against his brother's shoulder. He was having a most pleasant dream. The hot syrup from within was dripping faster into his groin, and filling it with a tingling warmth. His muscles were relaxed and he felt as if he wanted to purr. His breath deepened a bit as the tingling in his groin became more pronounced and he became more aroused. His next exhalation came out a deep rumbling purr.  
At that sound, Fili felt himself grow even harder, and he couldn't help pressing himself against his brother's flank, wanting to grind against him so badly.  
He turned his head and buried his face in Kili's dark locks and sighed. As much as he wanted to continue caressing his brother until he quivered and moaned with desire, Fili wanted Kili to feel as he did, on his own and not under the influence of this magical touch. Mouthing a quick prayer to Mahal, he ceased following the hot current and instead wrapped both arms around his brother's chest, letting Kili rest against his own. For a few minutes Fili just held Kili close, his chin resting lightly on his brother's shoulder, his lips softly grazing his neck.  
Kili frowned a little when that delicious touch ceased, but the strong arms around him were comforting and warm. Although the feelings of arousal diminished some, there was still a low pleasant pulsing below fed by the tight embrace and feel of warm breath on the back and side of his neck.

After a bit, Fili took a couple of steadying breaths, then slowly released his hold on his brother, ignoring Kili's murmur of disapproval. Still keeping one hand on Kili's shoulder, he moved around to the front to face him. Kili had his eyes closed, his lips parted slightly, tip of his pink tongue resting slightly behind his white teeth, looking incredibly seductive even now when half asleep. Fili could not deprive himself any longer. He placed his hands on both sides of Kili's head, cupping his bristly cheeks, and let both thumbs slowly trace the sharp jaw line. Then he leaned in and pressed his lips against his brother's, gently running his tongue across the length of Kili's soft bottom lip.  
Kili moaned softly into Fili's mouth, causing the older brother to tremble in the knees. Fili, starting to pant a little harder, let his tongue delve in a little deeper, probing gently for a long while before withdrawing it. He lightly tugged his brother's lower lip with his teeth, then pulled away. He was still clutching his brother's face, trying to control his quickened breathing when Kili suddenly opened his eyes and gasped.  
Fili resisted the urge to avert his gaze. Instead he searched his brother's warm eyes for some sign. At first a shadow of confusion flitted across Kili's gaze, as if he wasn't sure if he was awake or dreaming. Then as he became more aware of his surroundings, they widened in surprise. "Fili?" he whispered with uncertainty. "Is this a dream?"  
Fili steeled his gaze and without letting his eyes leave his brothers, slowly shook his head no.

Kili ran his tongue across his moistened lip, trying hard to make sense of what was transpiring. His brother's fervid look of hunger, the warm tight grip of Fili's palms against his neck, the slight tingle on his own lips, the soft pulsing in his groin; all these came together and Kili suddenly felt his world tilt sideways as comprehension set in.

_His brother... had just kissed him, deeply, tenderly, and in a very un-brotherly fashion. Fili... wanted him? His protector, the light of his world, the fair-haired strong older brother whom he had looked up to all his life... desired....him?  
Was this possible?_

Kili tried to wrap his mind around that thought, and quickly came to the realization that for some unknown reason, it felt right. He thought he should feel shocked, but now that he saw things in this different light, it seemed to be something he felt he should have known all along. All the admiration he had felt, all the yearning to remain at his brother's side, to be accepted as someone of importance in Fili's life, and now the realization that he was in fact desired by the brother he loved....all of this culminated in a pulsing heat in both his heart, and his groin. He shivered at the revelation and blushed. Suddenly he felt quite shy.

Fili watched his brother intently, witnessing his confusion turn to wonder, noticing the flushed cheeks, the quiver in his lower lip, the slight tremble in his shoulders. There was no shock, disgust nor indifference in his brother's warm eyes. Instead, acceptance and...hunger? Fili let his breath out in an exhalation of relief, only now aware that he had been holding it in. He shot a quick glance over to where Thorin lay slumped against a toppled stone column, looking like he was asleep.  
Fili slid his left hand from Kili's cheek, to grip the back of his neck. With his right hand, he caressed his brother's brow, gently pushing the stray hairs out of the way. Then he leaned in again and still clasping the back of Kili's neck, pressed his mouth softly against his brother's slightly parted lips.

Kili tensed for a brief moment, but then hesitantly met his brother's probing tongue with his own. Feeling Fili's tongue delve deeper, Kili was suddenly overwhelmed by a feverish craving. The pleasant warm pulsing tingle in his groin surged into a throbbing desire for more. Groaning softly, he clutched at his bindings, wishing he could wrap his arms around his brother, all the while kissing him back with a growing passion.  
Fili felt his brother's desire flame in both the intensity of the way he returned the kiss, and in his growing hardness pressing against Fili's thigh. After a long moment, he finally pulled out of the kiss, breathing hard. Kili's eyes were closed, cheeks flushed, moist lips still parted, and he was panting softly. Then Kili opened his eyes and gazed at his older brother in wonder.  
Fili kept his gaze locked on Kili's eyes and his hand squeezed the back of his brother's neck. Then he spoke in a low husky growl. "Brother, you... are... mine."  
It wasn't a question.  
Kili shivered, feeling the hairs on his arms stand on end at the passionate tone of Fili's voice. His knees trembled. He couldn't trust himself to speak and so just slowly nodded, caught in the piercing ice blue of his brother's intense and hungry gaze.

Fili reached out to caress his brother's cheek, letting his fingernails scratch against Kili's beard stubble. With his index finger he lightly traced around Kili's soft lips, enjoying his brother's shiver and the quickening warm breath against his hand. He had fantasized about touching and exploring his brother's body so many times, in many ways this still felt like a dream to him. He slid the tip of his finger between those soft lips and pushed in across the hot tongue, feeling teeth scrape against his skin.  
Kili gave a garbled moan and started sucking his finger.  
Fili slipped another finger into his brother's mouth, feeling incredibly aroused at the feeling of Kili's tongue and lips eagerly caressing them, the sight of his brother's pursed lips hungrily devouring his fingers. Finally, he slowly pulled them out, then leaned in close, and let his lips lightly graze Kili's. Kili strained his head forward, parting his own lips, eager for the kiss. But this time Fili just nipped his brother's lower lip playfully and then pulled away, leaving him to pant in frustration.  
Now that Fili knew Kili was his, it was time for a little fun. He stepped back and lightly ran his palms back and forth across his brother's tensed bound arms, enjoying the feel of those muscles writhing under his touch. Then he went around to Kili's trembling back. He felt around the slick ridges of hard flesh for that hot current again. When he found it, he starting following it, pleased at the way Kili moaned and trembled under his touch.  
"Do you like that?" Fili asked in a teasing tone, lightly nipping at Kili's shoulder blades, then squatting to run his tongue down his brother's spine.

"Mahal...!" Kili groaned, as his breathing became shallow and ragged. He felt his knees weaken further. Had his arms not been bound, he would have fallen to the floor. "How can you cause such feelings in me?" Kili gripped the leather straps tightly, his back arching with pleasure as the wet warm tongue traced its way slowly back up his spine, teeth occasionally grazing his skin.  
Fili continued to follow that hot pulsing current with his right hand, slowly increasing the pressure until his younger brother was shuddering and whimpering with unbridled, aching desire, his hands desperately clenching the leather straps, hips thrust forward. With his free hand, Fili grabbed Kili's shorts and tugged them down, letting them drop to the floor. He reached around and gently cupped his brother's warm stones, feeling them harden in his grasp.

Kili gasped aloud at the feel of his brother's warm hand cupping him. He couldn't help but moan and shiver at the combination of being so handled and of whatever Fili was doing to his back that caused his very being to quiver with that hot desire. When Fili took both hands away, Kili hissed in frustration.  
"Touch me!" He growled, struggling vainly against his bonds.

Fili smirked. "Have some patience, little brother" he breathed into Kili's ear. Then he nipped his shoulder hard.  
Kili groaned again feeling his cock twitch violently.  
Fili reached around and caressed his brother's chest, tweaking his nipple until it stiffened. He pressed his own hard cock against the crevice of his brother's tight ass, his trousers the only thing between them, and slowly ground himself there until he felt he might lose control. Breathing heavily, he forced himself to cease, not ready for that release yet. He went back around to the front, his eyes drawn to his brother's fine sword standing at full attention. He wanted to taste it and have it fill his mouth, but made himself be patient. Instead, he leaned in and pressed his lips against Kili's, his tongue probing inside.  
Kili was trembling and panting fast. He moaned into Fili's mouth causing him to groan as well. Fili pulled away and put his mouth to Kili's ear, sucking lightly at his earlobe.  
"Beg" Fili growled in his brother's ear. "Beg me to touch you, to taste you." Then he kissed him hard again.  
Kili was panting so hard around the kiss; it was difficult to get the words out. "Mahal, Fili!" he whimpered into his brother's mouth. "I'm begging you to touch me...taste me... I'm yours..."

Thorin lay on his cloak against the column and despite his extreme weariness, felt his own arousal rekindle at all the groaning and gasping and moaning going on between his nephews. He bit his lip to prevent himself from moaning aloud when he heard Fili's throaty demand that Kili beg. Part of him thought he shouldn't be here witnessing these intimate moments between his nephews who were like sons to him, but like a moth destined to be devoured by flame, he could not tear his eyes away. As he watched Fili running his hands all over his brother's body, taking pleasure in teasing Kili, and Kili enjoying this exquisite torture, Thorin smiled wistfully to himself and allowed himself to think about Frerin.  
Kili had a lot of Frerin in him, and as he conjured up his brother's face in his mind's eye, realized that they looked a lot alike. They were similar in personality too. Like Kili, Frerin had been cheeky but full of spunk, reckless but a skilled fighter. Like Kili, Frerin had also driven their father, Thráin to violent explosions of temper.  
And like Fili, Thorin had been the one to protect his younger brother from the worst of it. One thing that was quite different was that Frerin had lived with the pains and losses of war and knew the suffering that came from losing a homeland. Although he might have shared Kili's exuberance for life, there had been a shadow running through him when he died at age 48 that his nephew who had never seen war did not possess even now at age 76. Perhaps had Frerin lived this long, sheltered as his nephews had been, he and Kili would have been even more alike. As it was, Kili was like a more innocent version of Frerin.  
Thorin frowned, a realization slowly dawning on him. Maybe this similarity between his brother and youngest nephew was part of the reason Thorin had been having a hard time responding with nothing but anger and impatience towards Kili. Seeing Kili, and dealing with him seemed to have awoken long subconsciously buried memories of Frerin.  
Hearing Kili desperately begging his older brother, and feeling that tight throbbing in his own loins made him also wonder if sexual tension wasn't partly to blame as well.  
Thorin loosened his trousers and let his hand slip down below. He did know that if he didn't get some release himself, he wouldn't be able to honor his promise to Fili that Kili was all his.

Fili kissed his brother hard, tugging at his lower lip with his teeth, and then reached down to grip the length of him. Kili moaned at the contact, trying to thrust his hips forward. Fili stroked once then let go and dropped into a crouch, kissing and nipping his way across Kili's tight abdomen, up and down and across his hip bones, down his inner thighs. He reached around and gripped his brother's ass with both hands, tugging him closer. He buried his face into the patch of fine dark hair that sprouted sporadically across Kili's abdomen before it thickened and delved down into his crotch. Then he nibbled his way lower to lap at his brother's stones, sucking each one gently into his mouth, rolling them around his tongue.  
Kili shuddered at the feel of Fili's hot tongue and lips. " _Arukhi_!" he moaned feeling his knees finally giving way so that he hung there by his arms, whimpering and quivering.  
"Yes, little brother, tell me exactly what you _need_ " Fili growled, his warm breath causing the short hairs there to rise. He continued his licking and sucking of Kili's aching stones.  
Deep groans erupted from within Kili's diaphragm. He couldn't stand this exquisite torture any longer. With what seemed like the last of his breath, Kili begged his brother to give him sweet release.  
Still Fili teased him, planting kisses and nibbles everywhere but on Kili's twitching cock.  
His breath hitching, Kili violently swore in Khuzdul between his desperate groans, trying to regain his legs.

Finally Thorin, nearing the edge of release himself, propped himself up on an elbow and growled out to his nephew, "For Mahal's sake, Fili! Your brother has been through a lot. Give him what he wants."

Kili startled at the sound of his uncle's throaty voice. He had no idea Thorin was even in the room. Before he could even wonder how he felt about that, Fili had slipped warm wet lips over the head of his cock and was sucking lightly and rolling his tongue slowly around the tip.  
"Ahhhhhrrg" Kili groaned, all thoughts of Thorin swept away in a honeyed flood of intensity. Wishing he could grab his brother's head to steady himself, his hands clenched into tight fists, unclenched and clenched again. He thrust his hips forward in desperation.  
At that moment Fili slid his lips downwards, swallowing the whole length of his brother into his throat. Then he pulled away, his lips sliding upwards and creating a vacuum as he sucked. Just as he reached the sensitive tip of his brother's cock, he suddenly plunged downward, sucking the length of it down again. There he stayed, feeling Kili's cock pulsing in his throat as he swallowed and sucked, and pressed against it with his tongue.  
A raging torrent swept Kili up into that exquisite space between ecstasy and annihilation. He was spun into a violent vortex, pieces of himself tearing off into oblivion. He could not fight it any longer. In complete submission to the forces that consumed him, and with a violent shudder, he threw his head back, gave a long guttural cry and exploded down his brother's throat.  
Having given away every last bit of himself, Kili then let the throbbing dark waves engulf him, and slipped into unconsciousness.  
Fili took it all in, swallowing and swallowing until there was nothing left. His brother's cry of release stole the breath from his lungs and sent a delicious chilled tendril down his spine causing him to shiver. Trembling, Fili took one last long suck at the softening cock and looked up. Kili had fainted again.

Fili slowly stood up on shaky legs and shrugged out of the cloak he was wearing. He placed it on the floor closer to the fire near one of the toppled columns. He glanced over to where his uncle lay, a little embarrassed at having been watched, but Thorin just nodded with lidded eyes and said in a low breathy voice, "Well done, nephew."  
Fili blushed but nodded back. Then he went to Kili and started unbuckling all the straps that held his brother in place starting with his ankles. He supported Kili's weight with one arm under his shoulder as he unbuckled the last strap. When he had undone all straps, he gently took his brother into his arms and carried him to the cloak. There he gingerly laid him down, enjoying the sight of the relaxed naked body. He lay next to Kili, turned him on his side facing away, and started slowly caressing his back and shoulders, just enjoying the feel of his warm, slick body.

Kili moaned softly and started to stir, feeling the warm hands caressing him. His body felt languid and relaxed and as he opened his eyes, he realized he was no longer standing and bound. Soft warm waves pulsed from his groin, rolling in all directions, filling and gently rocking his body. He blushed, recalling the sight of his brother on his knees before him, the feel of his cock disappearing down Fili's throat. He also felt himself start to stir again at the thought. He twisted around to face Fili, his heart swelling at the sight of his brother's face, light and shadow from the flickering fire playing across it. Fili's golden hair seemed to blaze in the light of the fire, his blue eyes reflecting flame.  
Fili smiled at him and reached his hand out to caress Kili's face. " _Âzyungi zu, sannadadithuh_."  
Kili smiled back, "I love you too, best of big brothers." Then he frowned, eyes widening when he noticed the blood crusted on Fili's neck along with the long gash. How could he have not seen that before? Horrified he whispered, "Did...he... take a knife to you?"  
Fili shook his head, "Not quite...I will tell you later" he whispered back. "It is fine, and healing with the help of a special salve. Do not worry..."  
Kili tried to peer around the room, but was not at a good vantage point to see Thorin. "Is he still here?" he asked Fili in a low whisper.  
Fili nodded, "Uncle is...resting. He is..." Fili tried to find the right words to describe Thorin's current state of mind but they remained elusive. "Forget about Thorin for now. I am sure he will talk to you when he has recovered."

Kili was puzzled, but decided to take his brother's words to heart. There were some urgent things to attend to now. With a glint in his eye, he shifted closer and gently nudged Fili until he laid back. He placed his hand on Fili's chest, his fingers making little circles tracing the faint curls of his brother's golden hair.  
"Then I think we have some unfinished business, brother," he said in a low purr that made the hairs on Fili's neck and arms stand on edge.  
Fili sighed happily, crossed his arms behind his head, and closed his eyes. "Are you sure you are up to this, Kee? You've had a rough night and must be exhausted. I think you passed out at least 3 times tonight!"

In truth, Kili didn't think he had the strength to walk the spiral stone steps back up, but he did feel a need and desire to make his brother feel as good as he had felt. So, in response, he leaned over, his dark locks falling around his brother face. He softly pressed his lips against Fili's, letting the tip of his tongue dart in and explore his brothers mouth.  
There was a sharp intake of air as Fili gasped at the soft lips and accompanying scratch of bristly beard stubble. He kissed back, his tongue sliding against his brothers.  
"Mmmmmm," Kili moaned, thrusting his tongue in deeper. At the same time, he swung his leg over his brother's hips and rolled over atop him, straddling him. Without breaking the kiss, he stretched over Fili and pinned his arms down with his own.

Fili moaned into Kili's mouth, feeling the weight of his brother against his crotch, and on his chest. Kili was stealing his breath away with the passion of this long kiss.  
Finally Kili broke away, breathing hard. He looked down at Fili who was panting softly, mouth still open, eyes shut. He could feel his brother's arousal nestled in the cleft of his ass. He nuzzled the unwounded side of Fili's neck, nipping playfully at his earlobes, and at the same time, rubbing his naked ass slowly against his brother's swelling cock, only the thin fabric of Fili's trousers keeping them apart.  
Fili thrust his hips upwards, groaning with desire and need for that contact, but Kili had other plans.  
Kili suddenly released his arms, sat up and shifted his weight off to the side.  
"Brother, what have you done with your shirt?" Kili mused, fingering the torn blood stained fabric. Fili exhaled in frustration and opened one eye to glare at him.  
"Kee, you are teasing me." he growled.  
Kili awarded him with one of his biggest, cheekiest smiles, brown eyes wide in innocent confusion but twinkling with amusement. This was the look Fili remembered from most of their childhood. Kili bestowed it upon anyone accusing him of doing whatever naughty thing he had done when he was trying to look innocent.  
"Come now, Fee...Would I do such a thing?" he replied coyly, reaching out to give a little yank on one of Fili's mustache braids.

Fili growled menacingly, suddenly grabbed his brother's shoulders, and propelled himself sideways flipping Kili over onto his back, he atop him.  
Kili winced as he hit the hard ground under the cloak and then gasped as Fili pinned his arms to the floor above his head, pressing him down with his chest. Then he felt his brother bite hard into the side of his neck at his jugular and hold him there like a wolf might do to a lesser wolf. He tried struggling, but Fili's teeth gripped him tighter. So he froze, very aware of the hot breath on his neck, and the hard cock pressing against his groin. Even if it hadn't been for the sharp teeth on his neck, Kili didn't have the strength or the will to resist his brother.  
"Fili..." he whimpered, feeling himself growing harder.  
Fili felt his brother's hot pulse under his tongue, felt him harden against his thigh. Maybe it was seeing Kili bound and dominated by Thorin earlier that leant to his desire, but Fili decided he definitely enjoyed overpowering his younger brother. It caused dark untamed animal urges to surface that he did not know he had possessed. It made him feel powerful to have such an effect on someone else. After a while, Fili loosened his toothy grip on his brother's neck and trailed his tongue along Kili's jaw line to his ear, enjoying the sandpapery scratchiness. He growled in a low fierce whisper, "If you do not behave, little brother, I may have to tie you down again and... _zatazirikhzu_..." He nipped Kili's earlobe hard for emphasis.  
Kili inhaled sharply, feeling his heart beat faster, his groin grow hotter. He was pretty sure he knew what his brother meant when he said _claim you_. Hearing it in Khuzdul made it seem all the more sultry.  
" _Zirikhifizu_..." he moaned in reply. _I am longing for you_.  
Fili cocked an eyebrow as he looked down in wonder at his brother, "Are you sure?" he whispered.  
Kili looked up at him, the lust shining in his eyes, " _Zatagrifizu_..." he replied breathily. _Take me_

Thorin had been dozing on and off as he no longer had a very good view of the brothers. He had watched their shadows dancing on the wall for a while, but was feeling quite drowsy. Hearing the Khuzdul words made his ears perk up, and he opened his eyes. This should be interesting, he thought, propping himself up.

Fili did not need to be told again. He stood and undid his trousers, letting them fall to the floor. He wore no shorts underneath.  
With wide eyes, Kili looked up at his cock, stiff and ready, surrounded by a halo of fine curly golden fur. He licked his lips, and propped himself up on his elbows. " _Kirikhul....Sanzagar_." he whispered, unable to tear his eyes away. _Like iron...the perfect sword_.  
Fili knelt down and straddled his brother's chest. "Then your mouth is the perfect scabbard." he growled, reaching out his hand to grab Kili from the back of his neck. He shifted forward, pointing the tip of his cock at his brother's open mouth. "Taste me."  
Kili's moan was muffled as the cock entered his mouth and slid down the back of his throat. He closed his lips around it and let his tongue caress the shaft. He was not in a good position to move his head back and forth, but Fili took care of that by gripping his neck and thrusting forward and back with his hips.  
Fili groaned and shuddered, feeling Kili swallowing his length. After several thrusts, he started panting harder, feeling his stones start to stiffen. With a gasp, he reluctantly pulled out, not wanting the release yet.  
Kili licked his lips, "You do taste good, brother," he murmured.  
Fili staggered to his feet. He reached down, grabbed Kili under his arms and half dragged him a foot or so to one of the toppled columns. He ripped the tattered remains of his bloodstained vest and shirt off his body and threw them down on the floor.  
"Kneel on that" Fili said, his low voice thick and gravelly with his devouring need.  
Gingerly, Kili knelt on the clothing, facing the stone column, gripping it with his hands to hold himself up. He was very aroused but also a little fearful.  
Fili knelt down behind him, and pushing his shoulders forward, bent him over the column. "Now I'll sheath my sword in a different scabbard." he growled, rubbing his hard throbbing length against the cleft in his brother's ass.

Now that they had moved, Thorin had better view of what was about to happen. He shook his head and rolled his eyes at their cock-as-sword wordplay, as well as their naivety. "Psst" he called over to Fili. Fili was startled, having forgotten about his uncle in his immediate lust. Thorin tossed a small jar over to him and cocked his head at Kili. "Don't hurt him" he mouthed.  
Fili caught the jar, briefly wondering when his uncle had turned apothecarist. But then he turned all his attention back to his brother who looked so inviting as he bent over the stone column, his body trembling. He opened the jar, scooped out some of the shimmering salve, and smeared it into the cleft of Kili's ass.  
Kili jumped at the contact and then inhaled sharply as he felt Fili slowly work first one finger and then another inside him. Whatever his brother had smeared on his fingers made his skin, inner and outer, tingle and pulse with warmth. Instead of pain, it just felt deliciously arousing. He groaned, feeling his hard cock pressing against the cool stone, and pushed his hips back against the exploring, stroking fingers.  
"Mmmm, you are ready for this, aren't you?" Fili said huskily, marveling at Kili's willingness to allow such a thing so soon. He removed his fingers and let his cock slide up and down the slippery cleft, feeling his brother tremble with eagerness. When he felt that his cock was sufficiently covered and that he could not delay any longer, he carefully positioned the tip at the right spot.  
"Are you ready?" he growled, and then slowly began to push forward. There was a moment of resistance, but then with the help of the salve, he was able to push through. As he gently pushed inwards, he felt Kili clench around him and heard him groan deeply, feeling that low sound reverberate against his cock. His own throaty groans matched those of his brother as he slowly slid forward into that molten grip a little deeper, wanting to thrust all the way in, but mindful not to hurt Kili.

Kili felt himself stretched and filled and it was nothing like he had ever experienced before. The warm throbbing intensified, sending pulses of pleasure outwards from his backside and groin, to the rest of his body. He never realized other parts of himself could feel this way, and suspected that whatever Fili had slathered on him was partly the cause. He thought there would be some pain, but there was just a delicious dull ache that throbbed and created pleasurable hot waves that rippled through his body.  
Fili paused and the two of them were still, just gripping each other, breathing hard, and trembling, both lost in their own sensations.  
"Are you ok?" Fili breathed hot into Kili's ear. "I'm not hurting you, am I?  
Kili shook his head. Panting hard, he managed to say between breaths, " _Ghelekh....hurus...._ " _Good...hot_. And then with a note of urgency to his voice, " _Belkul Zagarizu...ubzâr...ubzâr_!" _Your mighty sword....deeper...deeper_! Kili pushed back against his brother's cock as if to emphasize the point.

Fili shuddered and almost came undone at those words. If he moved now, he would not last very long. Instead he reached around and grabbed his brother's cock in his hands, squeezing and running his palm slowly up and down the shaft.  
Kili quivered at the touch and whimpered with his need for that friction.  
When Fili felt that he had gained some control over himself, he slowly eased his way in deeper until he was buried to the hilt, enjoying Kili's trembling and deep groans. Then he slowly pulled out almost all the way, then thrust in again, this time faster and all the way without stopping.  
Kili grunted, as the air was pushed out of his lungs with the force of his brother's thrusts. His cock throbbed intensely within Fili's slippery fist. "Mahal...." he hissed between his teeth, feeling hot sparks emanating from somewhere deep within him. Fili wrapped his free arm around his brother's torso and thrust his hips forward and back faster, feeling the heat rise like lava threatening to spill from a volcano. The two of them panted and moaned in unison.

Thorin held his breath, marveling at the sight of the two strapping lads rutting like two bears in the woods, all sweat and rippling muscles, groans and labored panting. It took all his willpower not to go over and thrust his own stiff _zagar_ past Kili's lips and all the way down his throat at the same time he was being taken by his brother...but he resisted that urge. Gritting his teeth, he once again took matters into his own hand.

Fili couldn't hold out much longer, but he wanted to bring Kili to completion before he let himself go. He pumped Kili's slick cock hard with one hand, and with the other he grasped for his brother's stones, cupping and gently but insistently squeezing them. Then Fili half growled, half groaned into his ear. "Come for me, brother..."

Shuddering violently at the commanding but desperate tone of his brother's words, Kili was once again sucked helplessly into the rising swells of sweet delirium, where for one brief moment he teetered on the edge of release before the combination of a deep forward thrust of Fili's hips and one last stroke of his hand brought him crashing over the edge. He cried out Fili's name, his back arching, hips bucking against his brother's groin as he found his release for the second time.  
Hearing his brother yell out his name as he quaked beneath him, Fili felt himself swept higher and higher, riding the cresting wave up towards that all encompassing ecstasy of release. One last long thrust to the hilt brought him to the pinnacle where pleasure suddenly crystallized for a brief intense instant, time stopping between the sharp inhalation and exhalation of his breath. Then everything suddenly splintered into a thousand too bright sparks, the moment of stillness ripped away and filled with a great roaring sound as he came utterly undone, desperately clutching Kili's hips as the raging torrent tried to rip him away.  
Kili cried out a second time, this time accompanying Fili as he felt his brother's hot release from deep within, and heard his thundering groans of pleasure. Then, his body could take no more, and once again the darkness overcame him.  
Fili continued to shudder against his brother as his cock pulsed and throbbed in the slowly ebbing aftermath. His heartbeat gradually slowed to its normal rhythm, and still trembling, he sighed with satisfaction. He felt the moment Kili had lost consciousness, but did not want to move just yet. Tightly holding Kili's limp body in both arms, he waited until he was completely soft before pulling out. Then, he sat back leaving Kili draped over the column.  
He reached over and grabbed the bucket of water. It was warm having been close to the fire. Dipping the cloth in, he proceeded to gently wash the stickiness and sweat off both himself and Kili. When they were both clean and dry, he cautiously picked his brother up and laid him back on the cloak. Then Fili lay down behind him, gathered him up in his arms and held him close.

After a while, when the fire in the brazier had died back to small flames and glowing embers, Thorin felt as though he might have the strength to walk back up those stone steps. He stiffly pulled himself up on his feet and looked over at the naked brothers. Kili lay on his side facing away from Fili who was right behind him, crotch against ass, arms holding tight. He smiled tiredly, happy that his nephews had forged this new bond, but there was still that sharp ache in his own heart for what could never be. It was hard to imagine that he could still feel so raw even after so many years.  
"I hope neither of you have to ever do without the other" he murmured in a low voice. Then he picked up his cloak from the ground and brought it over to them. Carefully he laid it across the two, tucking them in like he had when they were young. He closed his eyes and winced as a pang of regret and sorrow hit him again. Then he turned away and was about to go when he felt a hand clutch at his leg. He looked down and met Kili's sleepy, soft, warm eyes.

"Stay, uncle..." Kili murmured, not letting go of Thorin's leg. "Stay with us tonight."  
Thorin paused and frowned slightly. Somehow this request deepened the pain in his heart and caused a lump in his throat. Even after all Kili had been through at his hands tonight, there was nothing but gentle love in his eyes. He could have been a child again, looking up at his uncle with complete trust and admiration. Or he could have been a long lost younger brother looking up at his older brother with those same eyes...except the older brother hadn't been there when he was most needed.  
Thorin blinked away the stinging tears and let out a long shuddering breath. He knelt down beside Kili and reached out caressing his youngest nephew's brow, brushing away the hair that was forever falling into his eyes. With a sad smile he asked, "Are you sure?"  
Kili nodded solemnly and patted the space beside him. "It would give me comfort." he replied.  
Thorin considered that and nodded. It was the least he could do, and he really didn't want to be alone with his guilt and heavy heart tonight. He settled down on his back next to his youngest nephew, pulled part of the cloak over himself, and closed his eyes, wondering if he could find sleep at all.

After a moment, he felt Kili's warm hand tentatively touch his bare chest. The slight touch sent tingling tendrils down into his groin. The hand slowly crept across to his opposite shoulder, and then he felt himself being tugged closer. Thorin shifted closer, so that they were skin to skin. Then he felt Kili nuzzle a bristly chin against his upper arm. Thorin lifted both arms and put them behind his head, allowing his nephew to lay against his shoulder, just as Kili had done as a child when the two brothers crawled into bed with Thorin on some nights. The warm exhalation of Kili's breath on his arm gave him goose skin.  
"Uncle..?" Kili whispered.  
"Hmmmm?"  
"Did I pass your test..? Will I be allowed to accompany you and Fili to Erebor?" Kili's voice was low and strained, but with a touch of hope. "I'm sorry I've been such a...a disappointment of late. I want you to know that you can count on me to do anything in my power to help us reclaim our homeland..."  
Kili was so apologetic and earnest; it made Thorin feel even guiltier. He reached around and awkwardly patted his nephew's head, trying to think of the right words to say.  
"Kili...you more than passed the test, and it's not you who needs to apologize, but myself." He paused, "The trials you endured tonight far surpassed anything I had planned...the whip I used...It was a cursed item and I should never have used it on you. It possessed me and I was led to do things...things that I would never have done to you if I was in my right mind. I am not trying to make excuses, Kili. I take full responsibility and must bear the guilt for what was done to you. I just want you to understand that the person who tortured you tonight was a monster, and not the Uncle who...who loves you dearly."  
Kili tightened his arm around Thorin's chest and nuzzled his side. "Thank you, Uncle Thorin." he whispered.

"There's something else I need to say." Thorin said in a low voice edged with angst. "I must apologize for neglecting you for so many years. I fear it was my actions or inactions that helped drive you to do the things you did. I must confess something...I came to the realization tonight that you remind me very much of someone I loved dearly and lost many years ago. I have not loved anyone the same way since, and to this day his absence is like a festering knife wound in my heart. I fear I have been unduly harsh with you because I see so much of...of my brother in you." Thorin took a shuddering breath and let it slowly out.  
"Frerin?" Kili mumbled, remembering the story of the uncle who died before he was born, but not much about the dwarf himself. He couldn't remember Thorin ever really talking about Uncle Frerin and was surprised to hear that he was somehow like him. Even his own mother, Dis never really spoke about her dead brother. "How are we alike?"

For the first time in a while there was a slight loosening of the tight knot in Thorin's heart. Perhaps talking about this would help him in some odd way. So he began to tell his youngest nephew of the brother he had lost. He told him tales of when he, Frerin and their younger sister Dis were young, in the great glorious days of old living in Erebor before the dragon came. In these stories, he told Kili of the things Frerin had done that reminded him of his youngest nephew.  
Kili listened to Thorin speak about the pranks Frerin played, the trouble he was always getting himself into, and the many times he acted too quickly without thinking things through. Thorin also spoke of how courageous and loyal he was, and how kind and happy and loving he was. Kili marveled at the range of emotions he heard in his uncle's tone as Thorin relived memories he had not allowed himself to recall for so many years.  
Then with some difficulty, Thorin finally told about the fateful day, the aftermath of that final battle, and of the dark feeling of icy dread that gripped his heart when he couldn't find his brother. Telling the story took Thorin back to that day as if it had just happened.

> _Despite his wounds that needed tending, Thorin went back out on the battlefield to search. He stumbled among the dead, slipping on the gore that was splattered on every inch of ground, barely feeling the hard crunch of bone and tendon under his boots. The air was thick with the sharp iron scent of fresh blood and acrid smoke, mixed with the fetid stench of voided bowls and steaming entrails. For hours he looked, calling out his brother's name, his desperate cries rising above the cacophony of the carrion crows until at last his voice was reduced to nothing more than a hoarse croak. He lost track of the time, weaving from one pile of mangled flesh to another, cutting down any straggling Orc survivors who dared stand in his way. He wandered into the dark forest near the glassy waters of Kheled-zâram, following the trail of broken bodies, both Dwarf and Orc. Daylight was dimming into dusk when at last by chance, or the will of Mahal, Thorin found him laying under the body of a large Orc, the tip of his blade sticking out from its back. He cried out in anguish, dropping to his knees. It seemed Frerin had skewered the beast, but the Orc had fallen dead atop him. Thorin grabbed the dead Orc and was hoisting it off his brother when he heard a low moan and realized that Frerin yet lived. . . Shoving the Orc aside, he dropped down to the blood soaked ground to grasp his brother's hand. He then saw that although Frerin had skewered the Orc, when it had fallen, it's Orc blade had also pierced Frerin's chest, pinning him to the ground. Thorin knew then that it was a miracle Frerin was still alive, but also knew with despair that he wouldn't be for much longer. He lay on the ground next to his dying brother and lover, and hugged his blood caked body close, unable to stop his hot tears from splashing the beautiful ashen face._  
>  _Frerin opened his warm brown eyes and gazed at Thorin, but it seemed his focus was already on what lay beyond this realm. "Don't grieve...brother" Frerin gasped, fresh blood erupting from his mouth. "I knew you would find me before I departed..."_  
>  _Thorin gazed down in anguish and felt the stabbing and twisting in his heart as if it was himself who had been pierced by that Orc blade. Too choked up to say anything, he could only lean over and press his lips against his brother's, tears continuing to splash down on Frerin's bearded cheeks. He felt Frerin try to say something, so he put his ear to his brother's mouth._  
>  _"Brother, my sanazyungâl....we will meet again...I will be waiting for you."_  
>  _With that, he was gone. Again Thorin cried out his anguish, stilling the forest. Even the vultures and carrion crows fell silent at that terrible cry of grief. With Frerin's blood still fresh on his lips, Thorin gathered his brother's cooling body into his arms and held him as he rocked back and forth, unable to do anything else as he spiraled down into a frigid shadowy pit of despair. For hours he stayed like that, despite the cold and dark, until others who were searching for them came. There was no memory other than blackness after that, for a long, long time._

Thorin fell silent, exhausted by the telling and dredging up of long buried feelings. They lay quiet for several minutes, Thorin doing his best to wrestle his emotions under control. After a while he felt a wetness on his arm and realized that Kili had shed tears. He shifted on his side to face his nephew. Then he reached out and wiped a tear from Kili's cheek with a rough calloused finger. Kili gazed up at him with Frerin's eyes.  
"Kili...." Thorin stopped, unsure of what to say, or if he should even say anything. He longed to lean in and kiss his nephew softly on his lips, to caress his body, to lose himself if only for a moment. There was no way he could say or do any of that. Instead he smoothed his nephew's brow and said in a halting voice, "You've had a long rough evening. You should try to get some sleep."  
Kili nodded, unable to speak. Then he stretched his head up and kissed his uncle on his bearded cheek. He felt Thorin smile. Then he closed his eyes.

Fili lay there for a while, his own face streaked with tears, thinking about the comparison between his brother and Thorin's. He tried to imagine losing Kili and the mere thought created a chasm so wide in his heart that he could not breathe. Since coming into this world, his brother had been such a large a part of him. To lose Kili would be like cleaving half of his own soul away, especially now that they had found each other in this new way. He nuzzled his cheek against his brother's warm back and held him tighter.

Kili sighed in contentment. Fili pressing against his back, warm strong arms encompassing him, his own head against his uncle's chest hearing the steady rumble of his breath. Kili hadn't felt this whole in a long time. He was going to show the both of them the extent of his mettle on this journey. They were going to be proud of him. With that thought, he smiled and drifted into sleep.

 


End file.
